Pokemon Ark
by Clare
Summary: In this round robin fic, Earth is destroyed by a comet, forcing several trainers and their Pokemon to start a new life on another planet. But there is more to the planet they land on than first appeared
1. Chapter One

﻿ 

_Like **Project Alpha**, this story is a round robin I started on Pokemon Village's **Complete The Story** forum. Once again, I would like to remind you that my screen-name is different there and that I did not write the whole fic, only the passages for the Emily character. The most I've done with other people's posts is iron out the sentence structure and any plot inconsistancies._

The other participants in this story and their characters are:

Crazy Bead McGubbins - Jack  
Pikacar - Marle (she uses that name for all her roleplay characters)  
Sir Glenn - Ken  
Galaxyguy - Max  
Misty4Ash - Vicky  
The Incarnation Pokemon - DS  
Caygirl - Faye

**

Chapter One

**

**Emily**

It had begun as a perfect day, typical of early summer with just a hint of the warmer weather still to come. As I sat outside listening to pop music on my radio and just watching the world go by, I had no idea that, somewhere in deep space, a chunk of rock was hurtling straight towards us.

The first hint came when, right in the middle of my favourite song, someone came on to make an announcement I had heard in movies but had never expected to hear in real life.

"We interupt this programme to bring you an urgent news bulletin!" I turned the volume up slightly so I could hear better what it was that was so important they felt obliged to butt in on my radio time. "A comet measuring three kilometres across has been detected on a collision course with Earth and astronomers estimate that it could strike at any time in the next three months . . ."

The man paused as if he could scarcely believe what was happening and I had to rest my hand on the wall to keep myself from fainting. At school, they once talked about what might happen if a comet ever hit Earth, how it would explode with more power than an atomic bomb and there would be so much dust that there would be no sunlight for months on end. Soon, without the sun, all higher forms of life would die.

Then, the grim announcement continued. "A Space Ark is being prepared to take breeding pairs of all known species of Pokemon into space to insure their long-term survival. In addition, a randomly selected group of humans will also be chosen to accompany them. Those people will be informed via email . . ."

I switched the radio off at that point and went up to my room, still barely abel to believe that everything I had known would be destroyed in just three months. I had no real expectation of being one of those chosen to leave - surely, I thought, that would be scientists and other "essential people", not some fifteen-year-old schoolgirl.

Checking my email, I found several messages from friends who'd just heard about the comet and wanted to say how nice it had been to know me. But there was another message there, a message that would change my life - I can't remember all of it now, so I'll just give you a brief summary.

It said I had been selected to leave Earth and should report to the spaceport in Viridian City in three days' time. I could bring a Pokemon of my own if I wanted to, but it couldn't be larger than human-size because space in the Ark was limited. When I read that bit, I turned to my Meowth - who was sitting on my bed blissfully unaware of what was happening - and knew she was the one I would bring.

When I told my parents, they were clearly very distressed at the thought of sending me into the unknown. But they had to agree that it was best for all of us if I took this chance - at least it would be better than sitting on Earth and waiting for the comet to strike.

My last days on Earth were unreal - there was a lot of tension in the air and riots broke out as people demanded to know why some had been chosen and others hadn't. I was grateful to have this chance of survival, but I knew it would be a bitter-sweet departure as I left people I'd known all my life behind to face the fate that would soon befall them . . .

I thought about this as - with my Meowth safely in her Poke Ball - I boarded the Ark. I hugged my parents hard, the moment made all the more touching by the knowledge that I would not be coming home.

My dad gently pushed me away. "Emily," he whispered, "go now."

"Goodbye," I said, my voice barely audible. I steeled myself and walked up the gangway that led to the Ark.

* * *

**Jack**

I should really listen to the news more as the first indiction I had that something was wrong was what I assumed to be a "hilarious" prank email telling me I'd won a trip into space on some flying Ark.

I phoned a couple of people about it, wondering if it was some kind of chain email and which address I should Spam in an act of childish vengeance. They all swore at me preofusely, telling me they had always known I was a "selfish little no-hoper who would only waste valuable oxygen" and it was in the interests of the human race that I should give one of them my place.

"And those people are supposed to be my friends!" I thought out loud as I put the receiver down on the fifth angry teenager in a row. "What the heck is going on here? Sheesh - they're acting like this email thing is real!"

I decided to get a drink and talk to my parents about the whole thing.

"Mum," I ventured, "what do you do when all your friends hate you because some idiot sent you an email claiming you've been selected to go into space?"

"That's nice, dear."

"Mum! You're not listening to me!"

"Hush, dear - the comet is on tv again."

That could only mean one thing - the email was real. I had to find a Pokemon and take it with me into outer space, leaving my family and friends - everyone I cared about - behind to die in the apocalypse . . .

* * *

**Marle**

"What are you doing up there!"

"Just a second, Mom!" I screamed back. "I'm just checking the email!"

"Well, hurry up! I need the phone line!"

I sighed deeply, convinced everyone was out to get me and dialled up - slowly. That stupid computer was obsolete when dinosaurs walked the Earth - no wonder it took me forever to check the mail.

Finally, I got connected and saw that there were fourteen incoming messages, thirteen of which were probably either perverted or offering a diploma online. I hated having to share an account with my parents, but there wasn't anything I could do about it. Then, I saw an email from with subject line Pokemon Ark.

I opened the message and read it, my heart beating faster with each word. This could be my chance to finally escape from the hell I'd been living in for the last twelve years. Don't get me wrong - my foster parents were OK, but they weren't the kind of people to have kids of their own if you know what I mean . . .

The last line was the shocker - only one human-sized or smaller Pokemon per passenger. I cursed silently, wondering how I would ever choose between my beloved Pokemon, how I could decide who lived and who died. I retrieved my Poke Balls from my dresser drawer - Ninetales or Espeon?

I only had three days to reach Viridian, so I decided to leave that night. I packed the bare essentials in a backpack and vetoed sneaking out the window since it was about twenty feet from the ground with no convenient trees nearby. I would have to slip out the front door - wonderful.

I tiptoed through the house silently, carefully avoiding the creaky board in the middle of the living room. I left a note in the kitchen explaining where I had gone and apologising for the way I'd left.

I was nearly through the door when someone grabbed my arm and roughly pulled me back inside. "Where do you think you're going?" my father growled. I knew he knew because my note was in his hand. I decided silence was the best answer, but I was wrong.

My cheek stung where he slapped me, but I refused to let him see that it hurt. I glared at him defiantly, waiting for his next move - my apparent lack of fear seemed to make him angrier, though.

"You think you're so special, don't you? What makes you think that email was for you? Was your name on it?" he demanded. "No - I didn't think so. Now, I want you to march right back up to your room and get to bed! I don't want you to breathe a word about this to your mother either - you hear me?"

I knew then that he was planning on leaving us here on Earth and taking the place in the Ark himself - not if I had anything to do with it! As he reached for my arm to take me back inside, I spun out of his reach and pulled out a Poke Ball.

His eyes widened in surprise as Ninetales materialised in front of him. "That's right - I have a Pokemon," I told him. "You tried to keep me restrained, but you failed. Now, Ninetales and I are leaving - we have an Ark to catch.

We walked away, Ninetales growling until the city lights had long faded away. Unconsciously, my hand slipped into my pocket and fingered my second Poke Ball. I hadn't made my decision yet, but I hoped I wouldn't have to . . .

* * *

**Jack**

I'd never been to Viridian before in my life - I only knew it existed because my friends had told me about the cool Trainer House they had there - but the email had told me to get there in three days.

Thank God I lived in Olivine City - it wouldn't be hard to sneak on board the ferry and, with a little luck, I'd make it there by nightfall. I looked at Wobbuffet waddling along beside me the best he could and wondered how he would cope in zero gravity. I also wondered if we'd get off the planet in time to avoid the comet and what would happen to everyone on Earth. I refused to believe they'd all just die.

I regretted not having said a proper goodbye to anyone, but it wasn't like I'd ever really been close to anyone except Wobbuffet. I wondered if the Pokemon actually liked me or simply followed me out of sheer dumb loyalty - after all, Wobbuffets aren't exactly famous for their intelligence.

Nonetheless, I liked him better than practically any human being and I was glad he was coming on this journey with me.

* * *

**Marle**

My legs throbbed and my feet had gone numb long ago. Ninetales had offered to carry me several times, but I'd refused until I collapsed just outside Olivine. It wasn't really that far from Ecruteak to Olivine, but we were pushing ourselves hard and fast. Ninetales had to carry me the rest of the way.

When I arrived at the Pokemon Center, I left Ninetales and Espeon with Nurse Joy to get a couple of hours' rest while I went to get tickets to Kanto - a special ferry had been reserved for people going on the Ark. I decided to have a little rest myself and curled up on a bench.

Nearby, a guy was talking to his Wobbuffet who seemed to have gone to sleep long ago. I dozed off to the snoring of various people and Pokemon.

* * *

**Jack**

"Would all members of the Pokemon Ark project please make their way to the ferry? I repeat - this is a message to all members of the Pokemon Ark project . . ."

"Time to go, Wobbuffet," I said as I started to walk towards the docked boat. As I walked up to the door, I realised something was missing and turned to see Wobbuffet still standing in the middle of the floor.

"Wobbuffet, come on! This is the most important event in your life and you're gonna miss it!"

"Wobb!" he said as he started wobbling unsteadily across the floor. Then he fell over and, as I ran to pick him up, I realised that as far as he was concerned we could have been on a day trip to Mount Silver. The sooner we got off this planet the better . . .

"Why didn't I ever buy you a Poke Ball?" I muttered as I pulled Wobbuffet back onto his feet. Since he was such a heavy Pokemon, it wasn't long before everyone else had left to board ahead of me.

Then, I noticed a girl asleep on a bench - she was obviously part of the project and must have slept through the announcement. I wasn't about to leave an innocent person to die just because they hadn't woken up in time, so I walked over to wake her up.

"Um . . . wake up, please," I said as I shook her.

"W - what's going on?" she asked, rubbing her eyes.

"Well, you have about two minutes to get to the boat outside before you're left behind on a dying planet.

She looked around at the empty Pokemon Centre and blinked a couple of times.

"You know - the Ark?" I reminded her.

"Oh, right - yeah. We'd better go." Then she stood up and looked around again. "I left my Pokemon with Nurse Joy and now she's gone!" she exclaimed.

"Well, maybe they're . . ." I started. But she was way ahead of me. She ran over to the door to the treatment centre and disappeared through it, calling to her Ninetales and Espeon.

"I guess I'll see you on the boat then," I said to the swinging door.

* * *

**Emily**

The spaceport was crowded with people saying goodbye to their loved ones. I felt as though I was in a dream, my mind detached from reality, as the Crew gave us a briefing on what would happen once we'd left Earth's atmosphere.

"You have all been assigned a cabin, the number of which is printed on your boarding pass," the Captain explained. "If an emergency situation arises, you will be told to return to your cabins immediately and remain there while the Crew sort it out . . ."

A female Crew member stepped up, dressed in the light-blue uniform of the Ark. "The following areas are out of bounds to all passengers," she said. "The Crew's quarters, the engine room and the galley. Any Pokemon you have with you must be kept under control at all times and we would prefer it if you'd put them in their Poke Balls if you have to leave them in your cabins unsupervised."

I turned my boarding pass over and saw the words Cabin N22 printed in black ink. All I had to do now was find out where I was going to be stationed for the duration of this long voyage. I was looking for someone who might be able to tell me where I was supposed to be, when I ran into two of my fellow passengers.

They were a boy and a girl and I decided I'd better introduce myself.

* * *

**Jack**

In all my life, I'd never seen anything that even came close to describing the spaceport at Viridian.

"This place is amazing!" I told Marle. "It's . . . it's . . ."

"It's a Pokemon Centre, Jack - just like the one in Olivine, only this one has a sign on the door saying Viridian Spaceport," she told me flatly, watching various members of the Crew walking round handing out passes.

"But, still - I mean we're standing in a real Spaceport here!"

"Whatever you say," Marle said, nervously glancing at the two Poke Balls in her hand - she still hadn't decided which one to take. While she tried to decide which of her Pokemon to abandon, I continued to look round in awe. Consequently, neither of us saw the girl until she was standing barely a foot away introducing herself.

"Hi - my name's Emily. What are yours?"

"Marle," said Marle without looking up.

I stopped admiring the interior design of this place long enough to manage a smile in Emily's direction. "I'm Jack," I said. "Isn't this place amazing!"

"Yeah - I guess. But it's also pretty scary, don't you think?" She didn't seem sure that she really wanted to be here at all

"People, it's a Pokemon Centre with a bit of silver foil slapped over the main desk - it isn't scary or amazing or anything like that!" Marle said, tucking her Poke Balls into her pocket.

"I didn't mean the _place_, I meant what it stands for," Emily told her. "Leaving everything behind . . ."

* * *

**Ken**

The rain was coming down hard; the water streaming down the windscreen limited my vision so much that I completely missed my house and struck the neighbour's mailbox. Cursing, I backed into the driveway and sprinted indoors before I could get much wetter.

"I'm home!" I called. "Jane? You around here?"

There was food on the table, the lights were on and the tv was going full blast. I knew that, if she had gone out, Jane would have cleaned up first - she was obsessed with keeping the house immaculate.

I crept into the living room and found her with a single tear rolling down her face. She looked at me with pained eyes, her mouth moving but no sound coming out. "Hey, Jane, what's wrong?" I asked, sitting next to her.

"It's . . . Look at the news!"

I glanced at the screen where a scientist was making a commentry about the probability of a comet striking Earth. I'd seen those documentaries many times, but, as I continued to watch, I realised this was no documentary. This was the real thing.

I tried to use everything I'd learned so far on my astrophysics course at college to prove the scientists wrong, but I ended up coming to the same conclusions they had. I don't know how long we stayed on that couch, but we must have been watching the news until the early hours of the morning.

When I woke up, I left Jane sleeping on the couch and went to the bedroom to check the email - they'd said something on the news about emailing people who had been chosen to leave Earth. The moment I checked my inbox and saw that I been randomly selected, I felt a wave of unreality flooding over me. I should have been elated, but something hollow opened up inside me as I glanced in the direction of the living room.

I logged out of my inbox and into Jane's - I'd known her password for months, but I'd never used it. The hollowness in my gut expanded when I saw that her inbox was empty.


	2. Chapter Two

﻿ 

**

Chapter Two

**

**Ken**

"Jane?"

She was just waking up, peering at me through half-lidded eyes. "Ken, what is it?"

"I - I've been selected for the Ark."

Realisation dawned on her face as she leapt up, gave me a kiss and enveloped me in an embrace. "Oh that's so great!" she shouted gleefully. "You're gonna make it!"

I shook my head and looked at her face, plastered with a huge grin. "No, I'm not," I replied. "Not without you."

She sagged a little, looking out to the rising sun as if this was what she had expected. "Ken, they won't let me on - you know that. You can make it with Pads - that'd be the best thing to do." She stared back at me, her expression intense. "Just go - for me."

I knew that expression; it was the same one she used when she needed to be in a commanding position, when she knew what I was about to do was stupid and she wanted to stop me. I didn't let her stop me this time though. "Jane, you've got to come along! If they don't let you on, I'll find a way to make them!"

But her expression did not waver and nor did her tone of voice or her resolution to ensure my safety. "If you try to make them let me on, they'll deem you a security risk and leave you here. And I very much doubt you could smuggle me in."

She was right again. I simply held the embrace for a while, desperately seeking an alternative. Painful thoughts clouded my mind and despair began to claw at my heart.

"At least come to the spaceport," I whispered.

She sighed and conceded. "All right - to the spaceport."

I kissed her on the forehead and we pulled away from each other.

As I loaded the last suitcase into the car, Jane recalled our Growlithe, Pads, and got into the passenger seat. I took one last look at our street before I got in myself. One house had already been looted and the others had been fortified somewhat, with their tenants wielding weapons of some sort. I shook my head and dropped in beside Jane. Without a word, I started the car and set course for Viridian City.

* * *

**Jack**

Was I the only person actually happy about the prospect of going into space? It sure seemed like it - Emily looked like she was going to burst into tears every five minutes and Marle had simply refused to talk to anyone after getting her boarding pass. She had gone off with her two Pokemon to decide which would be going with her.

Having been so wrapped up in my only little world of space adventures, the whole reason we were here had bypassed me and now, looking round at all the families and friends saying their final farewells, I felt a twinge of guilt for not really saying goodbye to my parents. I'd been brought up to believe things would resolve themselves, but now it was looking increasingly likely that we wouldn't be heading back to Earth any time soon.

The idea of being completely alone and homeless in the universe was one of the most distressing things that could happen to anybody. "Alone among the stars," I said half to myself.

At one point, there was an announcement that "due to unforeseen circumstances" some new placements had become available on board the Ark. There was a sudden rush as families, friends and hangers on of those about to embark on the journey stampeded in vain hope of securing a place.

* * *

**Max**

I signed my name and put "Abra" under Pokemon Choice.

I had no-one to say goodbye to - my parents couldn't bear to see me leave and hadn't come. I remembered the day I got that fateful email. I was checking it as I did every morning when I found the message and nearly screamed with a mixture of joy that I was spared, sorrow that I was to leave my family and anger that they hadn't built a bigger Ark.

I packed all my things and told my parents where I was going - I lived between Viridian and Pewter so it wasn't far.

"Goodbye, Max," I heard my dad say as I left the house. I couldn't turn back, knowing the tears in my eyes would only increase . . .

I finally found my room, threw my few bags on the bed and left with Abra by my side. I went looking for some of the other people who had been chosen, but there was no-one else on board yet. I sighed and decided to look around the Ark.

* * *

**Ken**

Viridian had turned into a mess. Though it was probably the city best able to deal with a large population, the sheer number of people had stretched the city to breaking point. There were throngs of people filling the streets and smoke could be seen rising from the site of a riot in the suburbs.

Despite the manic crowds, we managed to get to the spaceport relatively quickly. "Weird set-up," Jane commented, staring at the converted Pokemon Centre. Huge barriers had been erected and countless security personnel patrolled the grounds.

We left the car in a small park near the Viridian City Gym. Though parking wasn't allowed, at least thirty cars had already crammed onto the grass. No harm in doing that now, I thought as I scraped in between two four-wheel drives - it wasn't like we'd be paying parking fines any more.

When we got to the spaceport, a short man with a clip-board stopped me and told me to state my name and email address.

I told him and he glanced down at his clip-board, running his finger over all the names on at least three pages. "Ah, come with me," he said at last, leading me in the direction of a small cafe.

"But my girlfriend . . ."

I assure you that . . ." He checked the clip-board again. " . . . Jane O'Sullivan will be given a placing if one becomes available."

* * *

**Emily**

All I could think about as I sat in my cabin was that I was about to journey into the unknown. I had already met some of the other passengers - those two kids I met in the corridor were called Marle and Jack - and we were all a little scared at the thought of what we were about to undertake.

My Meowth was asleep on the bed built into the wall and I was busy tacking up a poster of a Corsola I'd brought from home. It was one of my favourites, given to me by my older sister, and I hoped that keeping it would enable me to maintain some kind of link to what I was leaving behind.

I wished my sister - her name was Rowena - could have come with us, but she hadn't been accepted. It might have helped if she'd been pregnant, especially if she was due to give birth soon, but she wasn't. And, judging by the approximate ages of the people I'd met so far, the people running the Ark had given priority to saving kids under twenty or thereabouts. I guess it made sense to do that, but I still couldn't help thinking about all those people left behind on Earth - their long-term chances of survival once the comet struck were virtually nil.

I tried to dismiss thoughts of Earth and decided I'd better make my way out onto the Command Deck, which was where we would be seated during take-off. Arriving, I took a seat next to Marle with a young couple seated across the aisle.

"All ready for take-off?" I asked with a nervous smile.

"Yeah." She smiled back in an effort to hide how nervous she was. I felt the same way, knowing we only had a few more moments left on our home planet.

A voice from the intercom cut through our thoughts. "Your attention please as we prepare for blast off. Please keep your seat-belts buckled and your Poke Balls secure as the Ark lifts off. Once we have left Earth's atmosphere, the artificial gravity will be activated and you may then roam freely.

This was it - we were about to leave. I checked Meowth's Poke Ball was safely in my pocket before strapping myself to my seat and bracing myself as the Ark began to move. The young man sitting across from me turned round.

"Hi," he said. "Just like the movies, eh?"

"I - I guess," I replied. I had never really been into science fiction and the last thing I had expected was to find myself blasting into space. "By the way, I'm Emily and this is Marle."

"Ken," he told me. "And that's my girlfriend, Jane - we're in Cabin N30."

"The same corridor as me," I remarked. "Looks like we'll be seeing a lot of each other . . ."

There was a screen in the back of the seat in front of me and I flipped it on so I could watch our progress. We were already high enough to be able to see the world clearly - a world we were leaving behind.

As the Earth disappeared from view, I knew there was no going back.

* * *

**Max**

The thrill of going into space was unbelievable. But, in these conditions, I wanted to be alone for a while - so I sat near the back.

There were people around me, but I just ignored them - they didn't talk to me anyway. I watch the same place on the screen - which showed approximately where my house was.

Finally, I couldn't bear it any longer and turned the screen off.

* * *

**Marle**

"Jane, I can't tell you how much I appreciate your help back at check-in," I said.

"Don't worry about it - I'm just glad I could help you." She stroked my Espeon's Poke Ball tenderly. "I've always wanted an Espeon anyway," she finished with a grin.

I grinned back, confident that Espeon would be pleased with her new owner. In a way, I was glad I hadn't really had to make a choice between my two Pokemon - wherever the group went, Jane would be there with Espeon.

I'd met Jane and Ken in line on the way to the launch pad. The long wait had given us time to get to know each other and I almost couldn't believe it when I discovered they only had one Pokemon between the two of them.

Espeon agreed with my decision, even though she seemed a little sore at first. I had to explain that I was keeping Ninetales because she had been my starter Pokemon - besides which she didn't take well to other humans.

I watched the monitor as Earth fell slowly away. The life I knew was left behind and all I had left was a tiny image on a computer screen.

* * *

**Ken**

"There it goes," I sighed, watching as the Earth continued to shrink in the monitor as the massive engines of the Ark propelled us away. Now, we were blasting past the moon's orbit as we accelerated into deeper space.

An announcement came over the PA, telling us to stay in our seats while final checks were completed. Some soft murmurs began following this announcement - everyone was either excited, scared stiff or still thinking about family back home. And that suddenly made me realised that the Ark was my home now - everything we had left behind was firmly in the past. Some buildings might survive, but no-one would be left.

"What's taking them so long?" Jane asked.

"They have to make sure we're on the right course and all systems are running properly," I replied. "And, with a ship this big, there's got to be a ton of systems."

* * *

**Jack**

The flight into space had been everything kids like me are supposed to dream about, but this little voice at the back of my mind kept repeating "it's gone - it's all gone" over and over again. I wished it would take its own advice and "go" too.

I guessed the closest comparison to the Ark would be a plane, but I'd never been on a plane with so many people let alone one that went into space. And there were no windows where I was sitting, which was a shame because window seats were the best to have on long voyages.

I was in Cabin N52. I knew I should have found it when I came on board, but I didn't have much luggage to drop off and I had figured it was more important to find out where the toilets were. This, of course, meant I had no idea where I supposed to be so I decided to tag along with a group of people heading for their cabins in the hope that they could shed some light on the matter.

* * *

**Marle**

A single tear had traced its way down my cheek as Earth faded from sight. I wiped it away and turned to more pressing matters.

I'd always dreamed of the stars. People said I was crazy, but I'd always believed there was no way we were alone in the universe. There had to be other life out there, whether it was intelligent or not. Maybe, this would be my chance to prove some of my theories.

I shouldered the backpack that contained my clothes and Pokemon supplies and went to look for my room, N17. When I got there, I opened the door and tossed the bag onto the bed.

"Not much else to do," I thought. "Guess I'll go exploring and see what happens around this place." I wandered off down the hall, fingering Ninetales' Poke Ball unconsciously.

* * *

**Ken**

The room wasn't bad, considering the rush it must have been constructed in. There was a bed, a personal storage unit, a wash unit, a work-station and computer terminal and a chair.

They must have been building this before the comet even got close, I thought. Maybe as a next-generation exploration vessel - then, the comet changed that. Now it's a lifeboat, holding what we hope to salvage from our civilisation.

Just as I had finished loading my last shirt into the storage unit, the computer's screen came on. "To all passengers on the Ark, this is your Captain speaking . . ."

* * *

**Emily**

We were all summoned to the Command Deck where we found the Captain standing there looking solemn.

"I'm afraid it's come," he told us grimly. "We've just received word that the comet struck Mount Mortar in the early hours of the morning . . ."

He switched on a nearby radio and messed about with it for a moment before he finally tuned in on what was obviously an EBS (Emergency Broadcast Station), one that only ever came on air when there was an international emergency. A female voice was describing what had happened in a slightly hysterical tone.

"According to early reports, Mount Mortar had been reduced to a crater!" she exclaimed. "Of course, we can't know for sure exactly what happened, but it seems the comet exploded with a force of 100 megatons, enough to destroy a whole mountain. Local radio stations based in Ecruteak City and Mahogany Town have been off the air since moments after the comet hit and it is feared that both towns were completely decimated in the blast . . ."

She paused, clearly too shocked to go on and an awful hush fell among the people in the Ark as they thought of loved ones they'd had to leave behind. Then, she continued, clearly trying to sound professional in spite of everything.

"I think we can safely say that this shows how fragile life is, how one little jolt can knock everything out of balance. Therefore, if you can still hear me, I urge you to pray for those who even now are travelling through space in a bid to preserve the human race. Our civilisation is over - they are the future."

I looked round at the others - at Marle, Jack, Ken, Jane and Max - and the look in all their eyes was the same, a mixture of sorrow and determination.

I felt as if I was in a vacuum with everything I used to love swept away. Most of my time was spent in my cabin, stroking my Meowth and mulling over the fact I would never see my family again.

I tried to imagine what Pewter City - my hometown - would look like now that the comet had struck, but I simply couldn't picture. Every time I tried, I would end up visualising a thriving community with shops and houses as well as a Gym dedicated to training Rock Type Pokemon.

One day - we kept thinking in terms of "day" and "night" even though such things did not exist in deep space - I was sitting on my bed reading a copy of a book called _Can You Sue Your Parents For Malpractice?_ that I'd brought from home, when there was a knock on the door. Leaving my book face-down on the bed, I went to answer the knock.

It was Max. "Hey! Are you going to stay in your cabin all the time?" he asked me.

"Of course not," I said. "I just needed some time to think about everything that's happened - that's all."

He grabbed me by the arm. "Well, if you carry on THINKING and stop DOING, you'll end up rotting in there," he told me. "C'mon, Em - they're gonna have Pokemon battles in the Rec Room!"

I did a double take, wondering if I'd heard him correctly. How in the Universe did they plan to have battles onboard a spacecraft without damaging it? I had to see this for myself, so I called Meowth into her Poke Ball and followed Max to the Rec Room.

The Rec Room was the room set aside for passengers to spend their leisure time. There was a table-tennis table, a pool table and a darts board, in addition to a juke box, a shelf full of books and a computer for playing games on. But, when I entered, the first thing I saw was that everyone's attention was focussed on Marle and another girl as they prepared to battle their Pokemon.

Jack was acting as referee. "The next match will be Marle's Ninetales versus Bianca's Xatu!" he announced. "Begin!"

"Ninetales - Flamethrower!" Marle ordered.

In response, her Ninetales opened her mouth and prepared to send a jet of fire at the Xatu Bianca was using. Before it could hit home, Bianca hurriedly countered by calling on Xatu to use Fly to get out of range.

Xatu flew up to the ceiling, but Ninetales couldn't hold back her Flamethrower and ended up breathing fire at the far wall. Luckily, the Ark was coated with a special fire-proof material so the wall was only scorched.

* * *

**Ken**

My guess had been right - the Ark had originally been conceived as an interplanetary research vessel with a crew of just twelve and enough onboard supplies to last them decades. However, with the sudden change in circumstances, things that weren't essential to survival (like labs, sample storage, drones and planetary rovers) had been removed or converted into something that would be required for the mission.

During one of my sessions in front of the computer, Jane walked in. "Ken, when are you going down to the Rec Room? she asked. "They're having Pokemon battles."

Pads perked up and glanced at us with interest. "No, Pads, not yet," I said. "Another year - I promise." Pads whined and flopped back onto the bed. He was still a pup, too young to battle, but I had been teaching him tricks which would hopefully give him an edge in his first battle.

"I'll get down there," I went on. "I'm just checking out some public access files on the Ark's computer."

Jane rolled her eyes. "Schematics again?"

"No - check these out!" I told her.

I brought out a video file, an image of Earth relayed from a military spy satellite. In the bottom left-hand corner of the screen, a brihgt streak came into view, momentarily whiting out the screen until the operator toned down the brightness. Then, the comet slammed into Mount Mortar, again whiting out the screen.

When Earth became visible again, it looked totally different - a massive mushroom cloud had appeared, surrounded by a rapidly expanding shockwave. It would have looked like a nuclear explosion, except one could see entire cities getting swallowed up by the shockwave . . .

"Pretty rough, huh?"

"It's unbelievable," Jane replied, shaking her head. The words **End of Recording** flashed up on screen and I shut down the computer.

"Well, I think there's still people alive down there - but how long they'll stay alive . . ."

The room suddenly seemed to get very cold.


	3. Chapter Three

﻿ 

**

Chapter Three

**

**Jack**

I looked up from the makeshift arena as Jane and Ken entered the Rec Room with Ken's Growlithe bouncing around them like a hyper three-year-old.

"Great timing, guys," I informed them. "We're out of challengers for our resident champ - Marle here. I'd battle her myself but there'd be no-one to referee the match."

"I could do that . . ." Jane started.

"Uh, no you couldn't," I said, shaking my head at her behind Marle's back. "It's . . . er . . . a very demanding job and you're not qualified."

"So, basically, you don't want me to fight Marle - is that it?" she shot back. "Is she really that . . ."

"So, Ken!" I cut her off before she could finish. "You and Growlithe there want to try your luck? We could make it a real Fire fight!"

Ken shook his head. "I'm sure Pads would love to, but, unless anyone wants roast Growlithe on the menu, this one's too young to fight."

"How about you then, Jane?" I asked. "You brought a Pokemon on board, didn't you?"

"Well, yes. But . . ."

"But nothing!" I retorted. "Chop chop - in the ring! Your opponent awaits!"

* * *

**Emily**

Before Jane and Marle could begin their bout, one of the Crew came rushing in, looking decidedly out of breath. "Alien!" he gasped once he could speak coherently. "Alien . . . on . . . board!"

There was a shocked silence as everyone in the Rec Room struggled to digest this news. Then, the Captain's voice came over the intercom to reassure us and let us know the Crew would handle it. "Will all passengers and their Pokemon go back to their cabins immediately and stay there while the situation is sorted out," he instructed. "No-one is to leave their cabins until they receive the all-clear."

Reluctantly, we abandoned battling for today and headed back to our cabins. Inside N22, I paced round the room while Meowth sat on the bed grooming herself - being stuck in here was so boring, but I knew the Crew had our safety at heart when they told us to stay put,

But would we really be safe? Or would this alien - or whatever it was - try to take over the Ark? Either way, it was out of my hands so I decided to kill time by reading one of the books I'd brought from home.

I chose _Divine Secrets Of The Ya-Ya Sisterhood_, but I'd barely read the first page when the lights suddenly went out and I was plunged into darkness . . .

* * *

**Vicky**

I jumped when the light went out and wished my Ditto could Transform into a flashlight.

I called out to Ditto and heard it call back, reassuring me as I lay there staring at the blackness. As I lay there, I felt like falling asleep - I knew I should stay awake because of the alien thing, but I felt so tired after my journey here that I drifted off without knowing it.

* * *

**Max**

I bolted up as soon as the lights went out.

"Abra, come out," I said quietly, not wanting to disturb the silence.

"Abra?" The little Psychic Pokemon said in utter confusion.

"It's all right," I said soothingly. "It's probably the Crew turning the lights off because the alien is on board . . ."

* * *

**Ken**

"I don't buy it," I stated firmly. "Alien or not, I'm going to see what's happening out there."

"Then I'm coming with you!" Jane said.

"Just a sec - I gotta get some things first," I replied, groping my way towards my storage unit. I pocketed a small tool kit and grabbed a hammer and flashlight. "Right! Let's go!" I said.

I pushed the Door Open button, but found it didn't work. I quickly removed the panel with my screwdriver and rewired the door controls. This time, the door opened.

"After you," I said.

Jane shuddered. "No - after you."

I set my jaw and stepped out, hammer in one hand and torch in the other, waiting to see what was outside.

* * *

**Emily**

I fumbled around in the dark, at one point accidentally treading on Meowth's tail, until I finally found myself touching what felt like a door handle.

I yanked it open and groped my way out into the corridor, intent on finding out what the hell was going on around here. I was just feeling my way along N Corridor when I collided with someone and we both fell down with a bump.

"What the . . .?" the person gasped moments before the lights came back on. They were dimmer than usual - obviously some sort of emergency power supply - but at least I could now see who I had walked into.

"Ken?" I said as I staggered to my feet and stood rubbing my elbow where I had banged it on the floor.

"Oh, Emily," he replied. "You gave me a fright walking into me like that. I just wish I knew what was going on . . ."

"Me too," I said. "But my guess is that it has something to do with that alien. Think we should try to find out?"

By now, lots of people were starting to come out of their cabins, all anxious to know what was happening. By the dim lights of the emergency power supply, I could make out Marle, Jack, Max and Jane, as well as a girl I'd never spoken to before. All I knew about her was that she was called Vicky and she had a Ditto.

"Would you mind telling me what's going on?" asked Marle.

"What the hell caused that blackout?" demanded Max.

I sighed and looked at them all. "Well, it's just a guess," I said. "But I'm pretty sure that alien - or whatever it is - caused some sort of power outage and we've got to see what's happening. Does anyone here have a computer or something that we could use to track it?"

They looked at each other for a few moments. Then, Max spoke up.

"I've got a laptop," he said. "If I can hook it up to the Ark's computers, we might be able to track that thing."

* * *

**Jack**

"Do you think it could just be some kind of Pokemon causing trouble on the Ark?" I asked the group.

"Could be," said Marle.

"Doubt it," said Max.

"What do you mean you doubt it?" asked Jane.

"Oh, don't be so naive, Jane!" Max snapped. "It's obviously not a Pokemon!"

"Naive? You're all just over-reacting!"

I decided to refrain from entering into the argument and looked behind me to check on Wobbuffet. "Oh, great - he didn't even wake up for this!" I sighed to myself, walking back to my cabin to go and fetch him. I tapped the Open button on the panel by the door, but it didn't work no matter how many times I tried. I was losing patience with the stupid thing.

"Open, you stupid piece of technology!" I yelled, resorting to childish abuse to try and psych the door out . . .

"Uh, guys - I think we have a problem here . . ."

* * *

**Vicky**

I just sat on the floor with my Ditto. Everyone had been arguing and Jack had just completely broken his cabin door.

I had had enough, so I decided to go back to my cabin. But, as I pressed the Open button, it didn't work even though I tried three times. Jack was still trying to get the others' attention, but it wasn't working. I took a deep breath.

"QUIET!" I shouted in my loudest voice. Everyone stopped arguing and looked at me.

* * *

**Emily**

All of us turned to look at Vicky, wondering just what it was she had to say.

"Listen," she said when she had our full attention. "That thing caused a power outage, right? And, to do that, it would need to be in the engine room or something. So let's go see!"

As we started along the corridor that led to the engine room, Marle hesitated. "Wait a minute," she said. "Didn't they say we weren't to go into the engine room?"

"Under normal circumstances, yes," Jack informed her as he gave her a little push forward. "But these aren't "normal circumstances" . . . now, let's move!"

I could see Marle didn't like the idea of breaking bounds, but she didn't really have a choice now - we had come too far to just go back to our cabins. So she heaved a sigh and carried on down the corridor with the rest of us. As we ran, we speculated about what the alien would look like and how it got on board.

"I think it's green," said Max.

"No way!" retorted Ken. "It's like a blob and it got in through the waste disposal system . . ."

"Bet you five bucks it's got big eyes," added Vicky.

"Whatever it is, we've got to get it out before it wrecks the place," I reminded them as we drew level with the door to the engine room. It looked like any other door on the Ark, with one difference - the **NO ENTRY TO UNAUTHORISED PERSONNEL** sign.

"Doesn't look exactly welcoming," remarked Jack, pointing out the digipad on the wall next to it. Presumably, you had to enter a code or something in order to open that door, but sicne we neither had the code nor time to figure it out, we needed to find another way in . . .

"Where's a Porygon when you need one?" grumbled Jane.

It was Vicky who came up with the answer. "Quick, Ditto!" she said, releasing her Pokemon. "Transform into a Porygon and over-ride the controls!"

But, even though her Ditto tried, it stayed in its usual blobby form. Vicky looked at us sheepishly. "Oh, that's right - Ditto can't Transform unless there's a living replica of what it's trying to become," she said with a sigh. "So much for that idea . . ."

Then, as we were trying to decide what to do next, I spotted a vent on the wall. The only snag was that it looked a little on the small side.

I looked at the others, trying to decide who might be small enough to fit in that vent. "Vicky," I said finally, "you're the only one who'll fit through. We need you to get into the engine room and try and open the door from the inside.

Once Vicky was inside the engine room, we began what felt like the longest wait of our lives. But it can't have been more than a few minutes before the door opened and she emerged grinning at us. "That was easy - all you have to do is slide the door to open it from the inside," she informed us.

Max just shrugged. "Whatever," he said. "Now, we'd better divide into two teams - I'll go with Marle, Ken and Jane. And that leaves Emily, Vicky and Jack for the other team."

* * *

**Jack**

The whole thing was like the plot from some cheesey fifties B movie or a low-budget teen horror flick like the ones that used to exist on Earth. But, at the same time, there was something groovy about the situation. Naturally, I assumed command and, after appropriating a torch from Vicky, led them off into the unknown to track down the alien.

"Right - first things first," I said. "We know it's knocked out the power supply; ergo, we find that and we've found the alien. Is everyone in agreement?"

"But what about . . .?" Emily obviously didn't appreciate my take on the situation. But playing covert ops was already getting to my head and her words were lost on me.

"Glad to hear it, troops," I said. "Now, move out!"

"Will you be quiet for a minute! There could be Crew members around here. And give Vicky her torch back!"

Obviously, there was dissention in the ranks already.

* * *

**Ken**

"This isn't right. We haven't seen any Crew members - something must have happen to them," Jane said.

We decided to ignore her observation as we continued searching for the cause of the ship's power failure. "What exactly are we looking for?" asked Marle.

"Well, from what I've gathered, the main power cables from both reactors pass through the engine room so that, if one reactor fails, the other still supplies the engine," I stated. "We'd be looking for some sort of access to the power cables . . . uh-oh!"

A silouette in the passage ahead shifted slightly to the left then disappeared to the right, moving into what looked like another passageway. Max had narrowed his eyes and Marle and Jane both had their hands low to where they kept their Poke Balls.

"We all saw that, right?" Jane asked.

"Yeah - and we're following it," Max replied.

I nodded, raised my torch and kept a firm grip on my hammer. We moved forward cautiously, preparing for anything. Pads kept low, growling the whole distance.

Then, just as we got to the point where we had seen the figure, I uttered a florid string of swear words. Three voices behind me also expressed their disbelief and Pads started barking rapidly. Where there had once been a high voltage power couple there was now a shredded mess of wires and cables littering the passage. Beyond that, the wall had been prised apart, revealing a darkened passage . . .

"Any money that leads to the back-up power lines," I said, pointing at the hole with my torch.

"It could be dangerous going ahead with all those severed wires around," commented Max.

"We're not going ahead - not through here," I replied. To prove my point, I drew a worn-out screwdriver from my tool kit and tossed it between the wires. A bright arc of electricity immediately crossed the intervening space between two of the larger cables, sending sparks everywhere.

"Whoa! Definitely not through there!" I said. "Anyone got any ideas?"

* * *

**Marle**

"Wish someone had a Ground Type," I sighed.

"Well, we don't have any - so now what?" Max rolled his eyes.

I glared, but Ken stepped in and restored the peace. "Calm down, you two - we have bigger problems to worry about," he said.

Ken's Growlithe had continued to growl throughout this exchange, but he suddenly yelped and leapt bheind Ken's legs. We stared at the whimpering, trembling ball of fur before meeting eyes again.

"Something's very, very wrong," Jane muttered to herself.

Ninetales positioned herself in front of me at the new opening in the wall, her fur bristling. I thought I caught a glimpse of movement at the end of the hallway, but I wasn't certain.

* * *

**Vicky**

"Oh, just give her the torch back!" I said as I tried to grab it back.

"No!" Jack said. Then, we began fighting over the torch - we were making so much noise that a Crew member came round the corner.

Emily dragged us into a hidden corner and tried to shut us up before he saw or heard us.

* * *

**Jack**

We were still arguing about the torch when Emily finally took matters into her own hands and stole it from us both.

"This isn't a kindergarten, you two!" she snapped. "If we're caught, they could do anything to us and, when you're travelling throught space at a couple of humdred miles an hour, that can take on a whole new meaning. Now sit tight and shut up or you'll find yourselves floating home!"

Needless to say, we shut up pretty sharpish after that and it wasn't before we could hear messages being relayed to the approaching Crew member through what sounded like a walkie-talkie.

" . . . damage to the navigation systems. Thankfully, life support is operational. Repeat, life support is operational." The voice cut out as the person at the other end ended the transmission - all that was left was the leaden footfalls of the approaching figure echoing off the metal floor. With a slow steady inevitability, they grew louder and louder until we felt for sure our goose was cooked. Thankfully, we were saved by a burst of static over the walkie-talkie.

"Unidentified creature in the reactor room! All available staff to seal off the area; the back-up generators must be secured at all costs! Emergency firearms can be found in . . ." At that point, the voice was muffled by a sound that, while disguised by static, still sounded like a screech of some kind.

This continued for the longest three seconds of our lives before the transmission went dead and the Crew member who had almost uncovered us changed direction and took off down the corridor.

* * *

**Vicky**

I looked around and saw three discarded uniforms lying on the floor.

"Hey, guys - look!" I said, pointing at the uniforms and at the Crew running past us. Jack and Emily instantly got my idea and we frantically put the uniforms on over our clothes.

* * *

**Emily**

Dressed in our stolen uniforms, we didn't attract too much attention as we hurried into the reactor room and met up with the others.

As it turned out, we got there none too soon because the alien was already siphoning off energy using the three long tentacles it had. I'd seen mcok-ups of aliens in science fiction films, but nothing could have prepared me for the real thing. It was a dark green blob with no limbs and a body that seemed to be all mouth.

"Ugh!" exclaimed Vicky the second she saw the creature. I could see what she meant.

"Come on, you guys!" Max urged us. "We've got to get that thing to the nearest airlock so we can jettison it." Then, before any of us could object, he ran towards the alien and blew a raspberry at it.

"Hey! Slimeface! Come and get me!" he called as he ran away with the alien in hot pursuit, its body leaving a trail of slime on the floor. It was a risky venture, but, given the situation, there didn't seem to be any alternatives.

Luckily for us, the alien was too slow and ponderous to deal with human quarry and it didn't take long for Max to get it to the nearest airlock. But, when it was cornered, it was more than willing to fight back - one moment, Max was opening the airlock, the next, he was crouching on the floor holding his face where the alien had stung him.

"Oh great!" I groaned as I helped him up. "Now what do we do?"

"Use my Abra," Max said. "It should be able to Teleport that thing out of here." With that, he handed me his Abra's Poke Ball.

My hands shook as I activated the Poke Ball containing Max's Abra. If this didn't work, we would be in BIG trouble - that alien had already shown us what it was capable of and I didn't want any more of us to get attacked.

When Max's Abra had emerged from his Ball, I quickly told him to use Teleport to get the alien off the Ark and onto the nearest life-supporting planet. I'd heard two Crew members talking about a planet they'd found that was habitable but couldn't support a large colony of humans. Hopefully, the alien wouldn't bother us again after that . . .

In any case, Max's Abra managed to successfully Teleport it off the ship and we now had to get back to our cabins before we were missed. But first there was a more pressing problem - Max's face had a livid red scar where the alien had stung him and we knew we had to get him to sickbay fast.

Marle and I helped him to his feet. "C'mon!" Marle urged. "Let's get you out of here. Trouble is, what do we say to the medics?"

I knew what she meant - if anyone found out we had been disobeying orders, we could be in real trouble. I glanced round at the others, anxious to know what they thought.

"We'll have to tell the truth," said Jack. "They'll twig sooner or later anyway . . ."

The others nodded and we headed up to sickbay together . . .

As I had feared, all of us except Max were called into the Captain's suite and given a long lecture on responsibility.

"I'm very displeased with all of you," the Captain told us. "You disobeyed a direct order to stay in your cabins - in addition to entering areas you knew were out of bounds."

"But it was brave of us to get rid of the alien, wasn't it?" Vicky cut in.

The Captain sighed. "There's a line between bravery and foolhardiness, Vicky," he said wearily. "And you lot have just crossed it. I'm only grateful none of you was seriously hurt . . ."

That reminded me of something and I asked how Max was doing.

"You'll be happy to know he's doing fine," the Captain replied. "The medics say the sting was unpleasent but not poisonous, so he should be out of sickbay soon. However, I cannot allow such irresponsible behaviour . . ."

Just as he was about to announce our punishment, a voice came over the tannoy. "Attention all passengers and Crew! Our probes have detected a small planet in orbit around a star of spectral type G1. We believe it to be habitable by humans . . ."


	4. Chapter Four

﻿ 

**

Chapter Four

**

**Jack**

We all watched the Captain's reaction to the news, wondering what he would make of this new discovery. He sat staring at his desk for a long while, pondering the situation before looking at us again.

"Well, it's about time we found a place to stop," was all he said, still deep in thought.

"Are we going to be allowed off this ship to see the planet first-hand?" Jane asked carefully after a few minutes of silence had elapsed. I looked at the Captain's expression - he still seemed concerned about our actions.

"I don't know," he said carefully, folding his hands in front of him. "By all accounts, you should be confined to your cabins, but this changes everything . . . Look - why don't you all go down to the Command Deck and prepare for the landing procedure. I need to think about this some more . . ."

With that, he ushered us out of the room and down the hallway to strap in for the descent.

* * *

**Emily**

As we descended onto the planet's surface, I felt a chill run down my spine as I wondered what would happen to us there.

The Crew seemed to have forgotten the misadventure my friends and I had had and even Max - now out of sickbay - was laughing and joking about it.

"Just . . . don't ask me to do that again," he said as he checked his Abra's Poke Ball. I followed suit with my Meowth, making sure she was inside her Ball and that it was sealed securely. Although it was rare for Pokemon to escape from their Balls, it had been known to happen and I didn't want Meowth to get loose now.

"I wonder," Marle remarked beside me, "what's the planet going to be like?"

Bianca, the girl with the Xatu, was seated nearest the window and she looked out to examine our new home. "It looks like Earth must've thousands of years ago - all beautiful and unspoilt," she said. "There's a forest and what looks like a clearing with a lake; they'll probably take us down there."

That made sense. Clearly, we couldn't land the Ark in the forest and we would need somewhere to build our settlement. With the passengers and Crew combined, there were nearly two-hundred people on the Ark - and when you add the Pokemon that had been brought along . . .

My thoughts were cut off abruptly as we landed by the lake with a bump. We were all eager to get out and explore, but the Crew wanted to debrief us first.

"Please stay seated until the doors open," one of them told us. "When we are ready, we will let you off the Ark, starting with those of you seated in rows A to D . . ."

* * *

**Max**

I had always wanted to visit another planet ever since I saw that thing in the sky.

It was a glimmering purple light with lots of other lights behind it - people told me it was a Legendary Pokemon, but I knew it was a UFO even though no-one believed me.

Now that I was going to set foot on an alien planet, I couldn't contain myself.

* * *

**Ken**

I squinted against the light reflected off the lake. The new planet was so much like Earth it was uncanny.

Then, a number of Ark security personnel ran in pairs to equidistant points around the Ark. Of course, having almost no information about the now planet, the Crew could never be to cautious. This mission had gone ahead with veey little planning because there had been no choice, but it seemed even as little as three months of prep time could find a habitable planet relatviely close to Earth. I was beginning to wonder if someone had set this course specifically for us to land here.

Then I glanced at the Ark. The ship had taken us who knew how far from Earth in less than a year and yet there were no habitable systems within five light-years of Earth. "Nothing travels faster than light," they used to say. So much for that . . .

My reverie was broken by an announcement over the loudspeaker. "While we finish powering down the Ark, I urge all passengers . . . er, colonists to remain within the perimeter set by our security personnel. In addition, may I ask anyone and everyone with any experience in engineering whatsoever to please assemble near the prow. Anyone who is familar with buildings or their design is also welcome to come."

Jane turned to me. "You think . . .?"

"Who knows? I've got a little background," I replied. "Find the others and stay with them." I then strode over to join the little band of people who would probably end up designing the colony.

The Captain's voice droned on again. "Anyone who is familiar with surviving in hostile environments, please form a group at the perimeter near the forest. Our security personnel will brief you . . ."

A nasal voice rose over the hubbub as the Ark's engineer began speaking. "OK, people, we'll be putting up the prefabricated shelters. But we're gonna need cabins soon and you lot will be helping me with that."

* * *

**Marle**

I was wandering through the lower decks when the announcements were made. I often came down here to visit the Pokemon - I felt sorry for them, isolated for the whole trip, but I guess it could have been worse. The journey could have been MUCH longer.

I felt like there was something I could be doing but had no idea what that was. I felt useless, like I should be doing something to earn my keep.

The Pokemon stared as I stomped up the stairs and out of the door to join the others outside. "So, what's going on?" I asked Jane.

"They're forming groups for various tasks," she told me. "You know? People with engineering skills for building homes, people with survival skills for exploring . . ."

"Well, I might as well contribute something," I said as I dashed off to find the explorer group. When I informed the supervisor that I was there to join the group, his only reply was a burst of mocking laughter.

"Look around, child!" he said. "This is a job for adults trained by the military - you wouldn't last a minute out there!"

I felt my face growing red and flushed with every word. When he'd finally finished, I tried to control my voice as I countered. "And what exactly do your troops know about the terrain?" I demanded. "I may be young, but I can take care of myself! I've had wilderness survival training and taken martial arts since I was six - and I'm going to explore this place with or without you!"

While I was talking, the supervisor signalled to one fo his men who snuck up behind me, hoping to restrain me and take me back to the shuttle. Before he even knew what was happening, I grabbed his arm and deftly flipped him over my shoulder. He hit the ground flat on his back.

The others simply stared and I looked at the supervisor questioningly. He nodded and I thought I saw a glimmer of respect forming in his eyes.

* * *

**Vicky**

I sat down on a chair and sulked. The only skills I had were climbing and creeping through small spaces and that wasn't going to get me far. Then I heard something on the intercom.

"Could all groups please include one person under five feet tall?" When I heard that, I looked up. Since I was 4'9", I should be picked for a group.

Then, I saw Marle whispering to her group leader and pointing at me. The leader of the group walked over and asked if my name was Vicky.

I nodded frantically. "OK then, you're in our group," said the leader.

* * *

**Emily**

It was strange being on the surface of a planet again, feeling the cool wind on my face and listening for the first time in ages to the sounds of nature.

The Crew sent a robot to forage for food - we'd need to know which of the local plants were edible once the supplies on the Ark were exhausted. This robot had a really neat way of telling us if something was poisonous or not - if the berries (or whatever) that it had just gathered using its extendible arms were safe, a green light would come on. But, if the plant was poisonous, a red light would come on and we'd know to steer clear of that plant in future.

I stood with Marle, Max and Jane as we examined a small dish of pink berries. None of us knew quite what to expect - just because something was edible didn't necessarily mena it would be palatable as well. I hoped there would be something similar to sugar on this planet so we could mask the taste if the berries were bitter.

"What d'you guys think?" asked Jane.

"I think we'd better taste them to see what they're like," said Marle. "After all, we don't exactly have a choice."

"O - ok, but which of us should go first?" I asked.

In the end, we decided to draw lots. I broke off a piece of the reed growing by the lake and, using Max's penknife, cut it in to four strips of varying lengths. Then, I held them out in my fist so that only the tops showed and the others pulled them out one by one.

In the end, I was left holding the short straw and I knew what that meant. Taking a deep breath, I picked up one fo the berries and put it on my tongue . . .

"Well?" asked Jane, looking at me anxiously.

I broke into a grin of delight. "It's like . . . tinned peaches!" I exclaimed as I savoured the sweet taste. "We should call these peachberries!"

"Yeah - you're right," said Marle as she sampled the peachberries for herself. We would have carried on talking and tasting had Jack and Ken not come to tell us there was going to be an induction meeting by the shores of Lake Arrival (the name we had given the lake near what would become our settlement). The planet would be called Terranova, which means "New Earth".

* * *

**Ken**

"Are you sure we should put the prefabs up so close to the lake? I mean we don't know anything about it except that it's big and supposed to be teeming with life."

I glanced over at Trent as he questioned the chief engineer about the way the shelters were being constructed.

"And what do you suggest, Mr Dean?" he asked. "Placing them just anywhere?"

All I'm saying is that maybe we should keep our shelters packed until we know we can definitely erect them here without any risk of losing them," Trent countered.

I looked at Jane, who was helping me unload a shelter from the Ark. "Um, I think maybe we should move all the shelters into the space between the Ark and the forest," she said. "The Ark's pretty big and so are those trees - they could act as windbreaks."

"Yeah, these shelters can't take winds stronger than seventy miles per hour and we still don't know what the weather is like here," I agreed.

The chief engineer gave us a look of approval and started scribbling in his notepad. "Good point," he acknowledged. "OK, people! All the shelters will be placed in Zones Four and Seven, arranged in rows. We want the latrines a good distance off - but not too far . . ."

I had just started to chuckle when I caught sight of something breaking the water at the far end of the lake. It looked vaguely like a Gyarados, but it was a deep scarlet colour and much bigger.

"Did you see that!" I exclaimed, gesturing wildly to where I had seen the majestic creature.

Jane looked up. "No, what did you see?"

"Never mind," I sighed. "Come on, let's get this shelter up."

* * *

**Vicky**

As we walked into the forest to explore, I wanted to climb the trees but the others had told me not to.

We were walking along when I heard something up a tree. I walked up to it and, when the others told me not to climb it, I said I wasn't but I had heard something.

Marle walked up behind me and looked up the tree too. "There's nothing up there so come on!" she told me. "We've got to explore this forest."

I walked off, but, when I looked behind me, I thought I saw a purple and green Pidgey. When I rubbed my eyes, it was gone.

I was walking along, not paying much attention to where I was going, when I bumped into something soft and squishy.

* * *

**Emily**

I was one of around a dozen people helping to set up the dome-shaped modules that would become our homes when Vicky came running up to me.

"Emily! Come quick and see what I found!" she called, grabbing me by the arm and practically dragging me away.

I wondered what she had found, what strange creatures we had to share this planet with. I felt my Meowth's Poke Ball in my pocket and was glad to have it with me - who knew what would happen if we didn't have a Pokemon to protect us out there? Even a Normal Type like my Meowth would be better than nothing . . .

"What did it look like?" I asked Vicky as we entered the forest.

I didn't really see anything, but it felt sort of squishy - like a Muk or something," she replied. "Do you think that's what it was?"

"I don't know," I told her truthfully as I pushed aside some vines to reveal . . . a bright red Muk standing in a clearing.

Neither Vicky nor myself had ever seen a Muk like it - we had heard of so-called "Shiny Pokemon", but they were so rare that the odds of seeing one were infinitesimally small. And, as if finding one Shiny Pokemon wasn't enough . . .

"I saw a purple-and-green Pidgey earlier," Vicky volunteered. "And Ken says he saw a red Gyarados - you know? Like that one that appeared at the Lake of Rage?"

I did know and the occurance of three Shiny Pokemon in the same day made me wonder. The Ark was supposed to be carrying breeding pairs of every known Pokemon, plus those belonging to the passengers - what if being in space somehow increased the likelihood of Shiny offspring? I would have to find out . . .

As it turned out, I didn't have much time to think about Shiny Pokemon during the next few days because we were kept busy building our Village and exploring Terranova. If we were going to form a viable settlement, we had to find find out as much as we could about the world we now called home.

The first night felt unreal - I'd forgotten how noisy it could be on a planet after spending so long on the Ark, surrounded by an artificial environment. The darkness was getting to me. On the Ark, there were always a few dim lights in the corridor - here, there was only Terranova's two moons plus the stars.

After spending maybe two hours trying to get to sleep, I picked Meowth up and went out of the module, ignoring Marle as she turned over in her sleep. I was sitting by Lake Arrival feeling the night breeze on my face when I heard someone cough behind me.

I turned and saw a girl standing with an Oddish at her heals. I'd seen her on the Ark a few times, but I'd never spoken to her because her cabin was down Z Corridor, the opposite end from where I had been stationed. I was sure I'd heard her name mentioned during our induction, although I couldn't quite remember what it was.

"Hi . . . um? . . . Er . . .?" I stammered.

"Oh - I'm Kate," she told me. "And this is my Oddish - we were just taking a stroll in the moonlight."

"My name's Emily," I told her. "And I'm just out here because I can't seem to get to sleep."

"Me either," Kate replied. "It feels weird being on a planet again - maybe that has something to do with it . . ."

"Maybe . . ." I said.

* * *

**Ken**

"Suppose we try to count stars - that'll keep us awake."

"Smashing idea, Trent - I reckon we could count hundreds of them before we get horribly bored," I replied, trying to sound as unenthusiastic as possible.

It had been over an hour and we were still sitting on the highest point our exploration teams had found, waiting for the generator to warm up. Once it was ready, we would be able to link up with the geo-survey satellite the Ark had jettisoned shortly before we landed.

"Got it!" Trent suddenly shouted. I wheeled round and saw that the satellite link-up, a remarkably compact electromagnetic focussing dish, was beginning to hum with power. From that point on, my boredom disintegrated and I beagn checking the meteorlogical instruments. "Cloud cover negligible - that's good," I observed.

"Where's our satellite?"

I checked my pocket computer and my watch before replying. "She'll be on zenith real soon . . . Wait a second - let me figure this." I entered a set of figures intot eh computer and looked up at the starry sky. "Try a heading of 32.018279, elevation 89.998912," I said.

The dish emitted a series of whirs as it clicked into place. "Signal lock - it's our satellite all right!" Trent shouted joyfully. "I'm relaying the data stream."

He hit a number of buttons that would send whatever the satellite was transmitting back to the Ark. "Hey! Check this out!" he said. I leaned in close to the tiny screen, watching a fast-forwarded composite of infra-red and visual scans of portions of our new planet. One screen showed a massive red blob in the centre.

Whoa, Trent - go back a few frames," I ordered.

He stopped on an infra-red scan of a heavily wooded area. AS I had seen, a large red blob was frozen on the screen.

Trent whistled. "Wow! That's gotta be at least 500 feet long!"

"It's warm, but what is it?" I asked.

"Dunno - magma near the surface?"

I thought for a second. "Advance the recording - slowly."

The red shape uncoiled itself, transforming into a long object. "Aw, hell - it's alive!" I groaned.

Trent opened his mouth as if to say something, but something else caught his attention. He switched the image to visual and zoomed in to the left-hand side of the screen. "It's around two miles from here," he said.

Both of us glanced around uneasily. I instinctively reach for my Poke Ball, but I realised Pads would never stand a chance against whatever it was. A clunk behind me made me jump.

"Sorry," said Trent. He had been trying to unpack the energy cannon when he dropped it carelessly. He started fiddling with it and asked if I knew how to work it.

"I thought you were an engineer - can't you figure it out?" I demanded.

"Should we make a run for it?" he asked.

"No, this satellite relay's important. We should stay on-station until the satellite goes below the horizon. Besides, that thing might be a harmless herbivore."

Trent managed a nervous laugh, the best either of us could do at that moment. "OK - we wait," he said.


	5. Chapter Five

﻿ 

**

Chapter Five

**

**DS**

It was my parents who pushed me into stowing away on the Ark, insisting I must be saved even if I hadn't been chosen. I said I'd rather die with them than lived knowing they were doomed, but they refused to listen and made plans to sneak me on board with help from my mother's Espeon and my father's Alakazam.

I brought my Charmander, two unhatched eggs and a gold pendant with what looked like a cross between a Dragonite and a Charizard etched in it. It was a family treasure generations old with what my parents said was an ancient blessing for good luck etched on the back.

My parents managed to locate the launch area and, with help from Alakazam's mental capabilities, figured out exactly where I was going to hide. Alakazam and Espeon teleported me onto the Ark and I stayed in that area throughout the trip with my Charmander sneaking food in every so often. I was glad she had had enough battle experience to be an expert in avoiding trouble and she was never noticed. Even when that alien got onboard, I didn't leave my hiding place, knowing my Charmander would protect me against anything.

When we finally landed, I managed to sneak off without attracting attention. The problem was that the people organising the Ark had planned everything according to registered information and all the people who had come on the journey legally had been assigned stuff. I had nothing, not even a cabin assignment.

If I snuck into a cabin and someone realised I wasn't supposed to be there, I would be questioned and they'd find out I didn't belong anywhere. And I couldn't hide forever and expect myself and my Charmander to live.

I wandered through a wooded area of Terranova, wondering what to do next. Suddenly my Charmander let off a warning cry.

* * *

**Vicky**

I was running through the forest with the red Muk chasing after me. I searched for a place to hide, but there was nowhere.

A wall came into view - I ran straight towards it and realised I was cornered. The Muk came closer and began to engulf me . . .

Then I woke up. "Get it off me! Get it off me!" I yelled, waving my arms around. I heard someone get up and pull whatever was on my face off.

It turned out to be my Ditto. But, after that, I couldn't get to sleep so I went outside. I was looking for a soft spot to sit on when I heard someone. I looked around, trying to see this person.

"Who's there?"

* * *

**Emily**

The rest of us had no idea what was going on - as far as we knew, only those chosen to come on the Ark had survived the comet. I sat outside my living module with Meowth at my feet, ponering over the events that had led to my being here. Was everything that happened to us pre-ordained? Was there some divine being that had chosen us to be spared when Earth was destroyed?

I simply didn't know - and I've never been into that philosophical junk. All I knew was that Earth had become an uninhabitable wasteland and it was up to us on Terranova to keep the human race going.

Nearby, I could see Kate, Marle and Bianca swimming in Lake Arrival, looking happy and carefree as if they were on holiday or something. But surely holidays were a thing of the past now that we had to shift for ourselves, I mused as I watched them. Part fo me longed to join them, but I didn't seem to have the energy to get up from where I was sitting - maybe, I should stop dwelling on things so much and get on with my life.

"Hey, Emily!" Marle called. "Aren't you coming in?"

"In a minute!" I called back. "Just let me run inside and get my swimsuit!"

Just as I returned wearing the swimsuit I'd brought from Earth - there was an Olympic-size pool on board the Ark, but I'd never used it much, what with that business with the alien - I heard Marle's Ninetales give a startled yelp.

Ninetales was snarling, her hackles raised by someone (or someTHING) lurking out there. I walked over to her and began to stroke her in an effort to calm her down.

"What's going on?" Marle asked as she emerged from the water with Kate and Bianca close behind. "Why's Ninetales acting that way?"

"I don't know," I replied in a nervous whisper. "but I think there's someone out there - someone not in the Colony . . ."

The others looked at me sceptically. "How could there be?" asked Kate. "We're the only people on this planet."

"The only people from Earth, yes," I reminded her. "But who's to say . . .?"

At that moment, Vicky came running towards us, cutting off further conversation. "Quick, you guys!" she gasped once she had her breath back. "There's a girl in the forest and she looks hurt!"

"Girl?" echoed Marle. "Who is it? Where did she come from?"

"It's not one of our group - I've never seen her before," Vicky informed us as we headed into the forest. Vicky and Marle, with the latter's Ninetales walking to heel, took the lead and the rest of us followed. As I walked behind Kate, I wondered who this girl could be and how, if she wasn't from the Ark, she had come to be here.

* * *

**Ken**

Pads was bouncing around on the spot, yapping excitedly as we caught up. "What's going on, Pads?" I asked.

Pads gave three quick barks before dashing off deeper into the forest, suddenly skidding to a halt in front of a massive tree. At first, I couldn't find anything of interest - but on closer inspection I found a small hole in the ground next to one of the roots.

Trent shrugged. "It's a burrow - no big deal," he said.

I shone my torch into it, revealing that the small hole was the entrance to a large tunnel leading straight down. "Trent, check this out," I whispered. He crouched next to me and looked down the hole.

Then he pulled out a radio. "Base, this is Echo Two. We have a find."

"Go ahead, Echo Two."

"We've found a long tunnel, grid reference 312441 - depth unknown." We sat waiting for a reply.

Finally, one came. "Echo Two, all recon units are currently deployed. Are you survival rated?"

"Affirmative - both of us are," replied Trent.

"Then proceed to explore. Bring weapons if you deem them necessary and record observations in your audio logs. We will send a recon squad when one becomes available. Base out."

Five minutes later, I was lowering Trent into the tunnel. The log was recording, receiving an audio feed from Trent's PokeGear.

"Investigating tunnel at grid reference 312441, still no sign of bottom . . ." Trent remained silent as I continued to lower. Then, he reported back once more. "Whoa, Ken! You have got to see this! It's a massive cavern at least fifty metres high and a hundred metres across! There are caves leading into adjoining caverns, I think. I can hear an underground waterfall. Keep lowering - there's a patch of ground that I can land on . . . That's it - I've hit the deck . . . wait a minute . . ."

"Calm down!" I shouted into my Pokegear. "You're getting hysterical down there!"

"This ain't a rock floor - it's metal! I dunno - it almost looks . . . artificial . . . Whoa! Whoa, Ken - pull me up! Get me out of here! Hurry, damn it - there . . ."

Abruptly, the recording log made a popping sound a reverted to static. "Trent! Come in!" I shouted. But only the hiss of the static replied.

Suddenly, the rope became lighter and I realised it had been severed. Without even thinking, I tied my end around one of the tree roots and spoke into the Pokegear. "This is Ken - I have lost contact with Trent. Time of last contact twenty seconds ago. I'm going in."

Before beginning the descent, I punched a few buttons on the log and activated my Pokegear's transmitter. "Stay here, Pads," I told my Growlithe. "If anyone comes by point them to the log."

* * *

**Emily**

It was Kate who found the girl slumped against a tree, a Charmander at her side and two unhatched Pokemon eggs in her hands.

"My God!" gasped Marle when she saw who it was. "DS!"

"Who?" I asked with a puzzled frown on my face.

"Diamond Star," Marle explained. "I used to live near her back on Earth - her parents are . . . were into all this New Age stuff. The question is how di she get here?"

"Maybe we'd better question her," suggested Bianca.

I agreed that was the best thing to do, but I also thought we'd better get her back to the camp first. "Hello?" I said, kneeling down beside her. "Diamond Star, can you here me? You're on Terranova - could you tell me what happened?"

Her eyes flickered open and she smiled when she saw Marle standing beside me. "Please - call me DS," she said. "Diamond Star was my parents' crazy idea of a name."

"Sorry, DS," I corrected myself. "Anyway, I'm Emily - and the others are Kate, Bianca, Vicky and Marle. Can you walk a little way?"

* * *

**DS**

"Yeah, I'll manage," I replied.

I didn't know whether to be happy or worried that my presence had been confirmed by someone who recognised me. But, even if I got busted, I wouldn't blame Marle - and the other girls seemed like pretty decent people too, so I'd leave them out of any attempt at saving my own butt from the authorities.

"As for what happened, it's a long story . . ."

"Oh, I think we've got enough time," Emily answered.

"If you really want to know . . ." I proceeded to relate my rather bizarre story to the girls.

* * *

**Emily**

Diamond Star (or DS as she liked to be called) had plenty to tell us about how she had stowed away on the Ark. "It was my parents' idea," she explained. "They tried for a baby for years and, when I was born, it was like a really special present - that's why they couldn't let me die on Earth when the comet struck."

She patted her Charmander on the head and continued. "I sneaked on board while they were loading up and I stayed in the cargo bay the whole time," she said. "I kept Charmander and myself alive by sneaking food out of the galley . . ."

She told us all about how she had longed to join in the activities on the main Ark but did not dare to in case one of the Crew caught her. Not that there was much they could have done - it wasn't like they could take her straight back to Earth. But that did not stop her from wondering if she would ever be able to mingle freely with everyone else.

We decided we'd better inform the Captain of DS's existence. He frowned a bit, but, under the circumstances, there wasn't much he could do about her; her presence on Terranova was a fait accompli, something neither he nor anyone else could reverse. "We only had space for 200 people and she makes 201," he said. "But it looks like she's part of the Colony now whether we like it or not . . ."

We cheered and I took DS off to meet a few people. Before long, we came across Jack and his Wobbuffet.

* * *

**DS**

Filled with ineffable relief that I had been accepted into the Colony, I followed Emily. Still, I didn't let my guard down; there would certainly be those who would resent me for surviving illegally while their loved ones had to stay behind and die.

In fact, I would have hated myself for it too, except I knew I couldn't deny my parents' last request. I couldn't resent them for it either because they did it out of love . . . suddenly, I regretted thinking about them because the inevitable feelings of guilt and sorrow began crowding into my mind.

"Hey, look! There's Jack!" Emily called, distracting me from my morbid thoughts.

"Jack? Who's that?"

* * *

**Emily**

"One of the boys on the Ark," I replied. With a bit of persuading, I managed to get DS to come and meet him.

"That's a nice Wobbuffet," DS commented as she watched Jack's Wobbuffet standing there with a spaced-out expression on his face.

"Is it?" Jack said sceptically. "All I can see is a great blue blob . . ."

"Yeah but I bet you didn't know Wobbuffet can make Pokemon faint even if they're on the verge of being knocked out themselves. I read about it somewhere - I think it's called "Destiny Bond"."

Jack admitted that he hadn't. But, then again, he'd never actually used his Wobbuffet in battle so the question of what Attacks it could do never came up. DS smiled lightly and patted her Charmander who was trotting obediently by her side.

"Hey, why don't we battle some time and you can try it out then?" she suggested.

We would have carried on talking had Kate, Max and Vicky not come running up . . .

* * *

**Ken**

I turned my torch upwards to reveal an awesome sight - Trent's description of the cave had been accurate and this was easily the largest cave I'd ever been in. I could make out two large exits, one leading to another huge cavern, the other to what sounded like an underground waterfall. The roof had beautiful crystal shards - like flash-frozen ice - and the floor . . .

I blinked in disbelief - the floor was metal. I could see blood, but I didn't know if it was Trent's and a low rumbling growl from the lake made me think twice about diving in and investigating.

I thumbed on my Pokegear and began transmitting. "Have found no sign of Trent, aside from a few flecks of blood. I believe there is grave danger down here . . ."

At that precise moment, something slammed into the side of the platform, throwing me into the water. I tried to get back out, but the current from the waterfall had already taken hold and I felt myself drawn inexorably towards the gaping hole at the end of the cavern. I tried swimming against it, but the current was too strong.

That was when I caught sight of some massive creature breaking the water, fangs outstretched. I didn't bother staring or gaping - I just swam for the waterfall, hoping I could survive the fall and find a way to escape that monster in the next cave.

I shot through the entrance and felt myself falling before painfully plunging into another river below. And then I swam - hard.

* * *

**Jack**

"Blood? Grave danger?" DS asked as we crowded round the entrance to the cave. "What does that mean? What's going on here exactly?"

"I Have no idea," Emily said in a worried tone. "Jack, what exactly has been happening here?"

I couldn't help but notice that everyone was staring at me with polite curiousity etched into their expressions. "Why ask me?" I demanded. "I don't know anything about what's going on down there."

"Jack, you've been out here - you must have seen something," Emily persisted.

"So, why are Ken and Trent down there?" It was Kate's turn to ask a question I couldn't answer.

"They must've . . . er . . ." I started hesitantly.

"And why's he going on about blood and danger and Trent being missing?" Max saw an opening to fit in yet another unanswerable question.

"Jack, work with us here, please," said Emily. "We need answers - preferably some time this week." She seemed determined to make my life as difficult as possible.

"Look, I've already told you I don't know anything about this!" I shot back. "If you want to find out what's going on, why don't you pull on the rope and see what comes up!"

I braced myself for the argument I was sure would follow, but it never came. The others had all turned in unison and dived towards the hole in the ground, each determined to be the first to pull the rope back up and be the first to solve the mystery of Trent's disappearence.

* * *

**Vicky**

My hands vainly tried to get through everyone else's hands and, in all the pushing, I was accidentally knocked down into the cave. I screamed, but everyone was too busy to hear me.

I grabbed the rope and realised it was too far to climb out again, so I jumped down onto what turned out to be a metal floor. I looked around and saw blood, but I didn't know if it was Trent's or Ken's and I wasn't going to stay here to find out. I got out my Pokegear and was about to ring Emily when I saw it.

I couldn't see it too well because of all the splashing it was causing. Then, as I looked closer, I saw something else in the water - something that looked like Ken. I picked out Emily on my Pokegear and dialled . . .

"Please answer! Please answer!" I whispered to myself. I waited until I heard a click, telling me that she had answered.

"Vicky, why are you ringing me? You're up here, aren't you?" she asked in a curious voice.

"Um, well - actually, no. I'm not up there; I fell into the cavern," I told her. After that, all I heard was silence coming down the phone, so I decided I should talk again.

"By the way, I think you should get help because Ken is getting chased by a lake monster," I told her.

* * *

**DS**

Apparently, something was going on in that hole and it wasn't good.

According to Vicky, some guy named Ken had gone down there and was now in danger of being victimised by a lake monster. Emily had gone to find help almost immediately after Vicky gave her the news, but not before leaving some parting instructions.

"OK, I'm going to get the others," she said. "You guys must stay here - and don't go into the hole; we don't need any more problems. Here's Vicky's Pokegear number . . ." She pulled out a marker, but there was no paper handy.

"Just write it on Wobbuffet," suggested Jack.

I'd rather not . . . er . . . mark your Wobbuffet."

"Aw! Just . . . let me do it!" Jack took the marker and poised it over his Wobbuffet's head as Emily gave in with a mildly exasperated sigh and told him the number. "There," he said when he was done. "Now, Wobbuffet, guard it with your life - OK? At least until we don't need it anymore."

"Well, maybe it would be a good idea to call Vicky and give her one of our Pokegear numbers so she can call us if something happens," Kate suggested.

"Well, seeing as I've got her number, I might as well give her mine," Jack said as he dialled up Vicky. We waited a few seconds before Vicky's voice came through.

"Emil . . . you . . . ack . . . soon . . . Did . . . you fi . . . elp?"

We hadn't expected the reception to be so poor - all that static was making it difficult to figure out what she was saying. "Vicky! Hey, Vicky!" Jack called. "This is Jack - Emily's not back yet and I'm calling to give you my number so you can call us if you have to."

"What? Can't . . . too . . . much . . . atic - message not get . . ."

"Looks like we're not coming over any better," I observed.

"Maybe if we got closer to the hole . . ." Jack suggested. He moved right to the lip of the hole and tried again. Then, his Wobbuffet crashed into me, knocking one of the eggs out of the crook of my arm and straight into the hole. My Charmander caught up to it in one leap, but couldn't prevent herself from going down the hole with her cargo.

"Charmander!" I yelled, turning to Kate. "Look, I know Emily said not to go down there, but we have to," I told her. "My Pokemon just went down there . . ."


	6. Chapter Six

﻿ 

**

Chapter Six

**

**Ken**

I continued letting the current pull me into the far end of the cavern, ignoring the monster behind me. There would be nothing I could do about it unless I was out of the water.

I could see that the water was gushing through a small hole in the wall, large enough to admit a human but not a giant fish. I swam straight into it, finding myself plunged into a narrow, semi-submerged tunnel. I threw my arms and legs out, managing to gain a grip on the walls and stop myself from being swept away.

The thing chasing me slammed headlong into the wall, unable to enter the small opening. It rammed the hole a few times before giving up and swimming away.

I heaved a sigh of relief and began searching for an escape.

* * *

**Emily**

While we were waiting for the others to get back from the cave, Marle, Jane and I sat on the grass staring up at the sky and thinking about how much our lives had changed.

I wondered what would become of us, the last remnants of the human race, stuck on this unknown planet with no way of returning to things that were once familiar. I remembered that they had been debating about how a comet strike might affect Earth for years, only no-one ever expected it to happen in their lifetime.

Nearby, our Pokemon - my Meowth, Jane's Espeon and Marle's Ninetales - were playing together, completely oblivious to what was happening on Terranova. Having Meowth around kept me sane; the responsibility of training a Pokemon in an alien environment helped keep us focussed and prevented us from going crazy thinking about what we had lost.

"I'm getting worried," Marle said. "It's been . . ." She paused as she tried to estimate the time, a difficult task without clocks. " . . . ages since we heard from the others."

"I know," Jane added. "Emily, didn't Vicky say something about . . ."

She was cut off abruptly as Vicky and Kate came running up to us. Both girls were gasping for breath, clearly terrified out of their wits by something they had seen, and it took several minutes for them to get their breath back.

"What's going on?" I asked, sensing that whatever it was had to be serious for them to have run all the way back to camp. "What happened?"

"Monster . . . cave . . ." was all Vicky could gasp. But I didn't press her; she was only just ten and colonising Terranova was a stressful business. I admired the way she'd coped so well, but there were clearly some things that would prove too much for her just yet.

I turned to Kate, hoping she could give me a more complete answer.

* * *

**Max**

During this whole thing, I was just watching - I had no idea what to do. Then, I started to wonder why on Terranova I was outside the cave.

I didn't care what anyone else said about this being a bad idea - since I was adventurous and a lake monster was an adventure, I jumped. I let Abra out and teleport to the bottom where there appeared to be land.

"What the . . ." I managed when a rusn of water came over me, throwing me five feet into the air. I recalled Abra just as we fell into the water.

Then, I saw the others. I tried yelling to them, but I was pulled underwater right at that moment . . .

* * *

**Emily**

Bit by bit, Kate told us what had happened.

"It was a monster," she said, her eyes still wide with fright. "We were in the cave and, all of a sudden, a tentacle - like a giant Octillery's snaked out and started attacking us . . . Vicky and I only just got away."

"But what about the others!" demanded Marle, a shocked expression on her face.

Kate shook her head and I knew immediately what we had to do. Whatever that thing was, we had to go after it and rescue our friends.

"Quick!" I told the others. "Grab your Pokemon and come on! The others need us!"

"We won't stand a chance!" exclaimed Vicky. I responded by grabbing her by the hand and urging her on.

"That doesn't matter," I told her. "What's important is that our friends are in trouble - so we've got to at least try to save them!"

But, even as I spoke, I wondered how we could do anything if we didn't know what we were up against.

* * *

**DS**

Charmander! Fire Blast!" I ordered. The huge block of flames hit the monster dead center and I heard it roar, probably in pain.

Suddenly, a tentacle shot out and wrapped itself around Charmander.

"Charmander!" I yelled. "Jack, help!"

"But what can I do?"

"Your Wobbuffet!" I shouted. "Get that thing to attack your Wobbuffet!"

"Why?" he demanded.

"So your Wobbuffet can use Counter! Come on!" I urged, wincing as I heard my Charmander's choked cries and realised the monster was going to crush her to death.

"Oh, fine," said Jack. "Wobbuffet, get that thing to attack you!"

"Wobba?" the Wobbuffet said questioningly.

"Just do it!"

"Wob! Wobba wob wobba Wobbuffet!" Jack's Wobbuffet began taunting the giant thing, provoking it into lashing out with one of its huge tentacles.

"Now what do I do?" asked Jack.

"Tell Wobbuffet to use Counter!" I yelled.

Jack did so and Wobbuffet suddenly began glowing, deflected the tentacle just as it was about to hit and whacking the monster with three times the force it would have hit Wobbuffet with. Momentarily stunned, the the thing released its grip on Charmander, who fell limply to the ground. I raced over and picked up my fallen Pokemon before putting as much distance as I could between us and that thing.

"Wow, Wobbuffet, did you do that?" I asked.

"Wobb!" said the Wobbuffet proudly.

I suddenly remembered the Pokemon eggs. One of them was down here, unharmed for the moment, but the other was still outside the cavern. I could only hope that Kate and Vicky had found it and taken it for safe-keeping before they went for help.

* * *

**Ken**

After much clawing, grasping and climbing, I was finally able to get onto some ground not far from the hole. I could make out the sounds of a monster and a Pokemon battle and, swearing under my breath, started running back to the waterfall, the only visible route back to the cavern where the whole mess started.

Finally, I raised myself up onto a niche just inside the cavern. I could see the battle unfolding - some creature had just incapacitated a Charmander but was stunned by a Counter Attack from Jack's Wobbuffet. It was then that I suddenly realised I had an energy cannon slung over my back.

Cursing myself for forgetting, I swept the canon up and braced it against my shoulder as it powered up. But I realised what I was doing could be folly since I had never been trained in the use of weapons and might hit one of my friends by mistake. Or, I could lure that thing away from them . . .

I pulled back a small scroller on the side of the cannon, reducing its energy until it was powerful enough to burn but not kill. As I fired wildly at the creature, I realised belatedly that some of the crystal shards had reflected the cannon's energy. Still, one of the reflected beams struck a tentacle and the beast submerged in a shriek of fury. I quickly raised the cannon to maximum power and pointed it at the water, waiting nervously for the monster to emerge.

* * *

**DS**

"Hey! Get up the rope! That thing's gonna try and knock you into the water!"

Ken was shouting at Jack and me. My brain was still a little frazzled, but it caught the warning in his voice and, without a second thought, I jumped off the platform and headed for the entrance hole with Charmander and the egg in tow.

Before Jack could follow, a tentacle exploded from the surface of the underground lake and wrapped itself around him and his Wobbuffet. Luckily, Wobbuffet was sharper than he looked and used Counter just before the tentacles tightened their grip. Breaking free, Jack and Wobbuffet got as far away from that thing and the water as they could.

I was just about to tell Ken that now would be the perfect time to blast that thing when it submerged again. Things were silent for the time being, but we didn't known how long that would last.

* * *

**Emily**

Luckily, the others - all except Max - got out of the cave unscathed when the monster went back under the water and Trent was later found safe and well. But it frightened me to think that creature was lurking out there, ready to pounce on us in a moment of inattention - for days afterwards, I didn't dare let Meowth out of my sight.

The grown-ups were pretty worried too when we told them and called everyone together to inform us that no-one was to go into that cave again under any circumstances. From that day forth, it was known as the Forbidden Cave.

It wasn't long after this before the eggs DS had began to hatch. I was washing my hair in Lake Arrival when she and Vicky ran up to me, their eyes wide with excitement.

"It's happening!" Vicky said in an excited rush.

"What's happening?" I asked, not entirely sure what she meant.

"One of the eggs is hatching!" DS replied. "Emily, you gotta come see!"

I followed them to DS's hut where one of the two eggs was standing on a makeshift table, a large crack visible in the shell. As we watched, the shell broke away and a furry brown head with pointed ears emerged - it was an Eevee and we all "oohed" in delight at the adorable Pokemon. But there was something I was curious about - I'd assumed all Pokemon hatched on Terranova would be Shinies, so why wasn't this one?

"It might be because that one wasn't conceived in space," suggested DS. "I've had that egg with me since I left Earth . . ."

I picked the Eevee (it was a male) up as he emerged from the egg and hugged him close. "Hello, Eevee," I whispered. "Welcome to Terranova."

"Would you like to keep it?" asked DS.

I nodded eagerly - I'd always wanted an Eevee and he would be a companion for Meowth. "I wonder when the other egg will hatch," I mused as I sat stroking my new friend.

* * *

**DS**

In truth, I was a little reluctant to part with the Eevee, but since I would still be living the miserable life of a fugitive if it wasn't for Emily, I decided it was the least I could do to repay her.

My Charmander was far more reluctant when it came to giving the Eevee to someone else and I could tell by the look in her eyes that no amount of coaxing and arguing would convicne her to allow the Pokemon in the remaining egg to be given away. Truth be told, Charmander kept a very jealous guard on that egg; once, Emily's Meowth wandered over to peek at it and Charmander went into a near frenzy, pouncing on the Meowth and commencing with a rather brutal succession of Slash Attacks. I pulled her off and scolded her for being so overprotective.

I assured Charmander that no-one was going to harm the egg, but she wasn't sure and all the other Pokemon and trainers made sure to stay far away when she was around. I hoped that egg would hatch soon so my Pokemon's mother-hen-reign-of-terror would stop.

Then, not too many days later, my wish came true.

"Mander . . ." Charmander said as she and I watched silently as the shell began to crack. Soon, little bits and pieces of shell began to fall off and a long pale yellow snout came poking out. Then, the whole top half of the shell fell off and revealed the Pokemon inside to be a male Cyndaquil.

I wondered what we should name him - then I remembered some of the Japanese I'd learned on Earth. "How about Hinochisanii?" I suggested.

"Mander?" Charmander gave me a flustered look.

It's sort of an abbreviation of a phrase that means "small brother of fire"," I explained. "Hinochi for short."

* * *

**Emily**

I was sitting by the shores of Lake Arrival with Meowth and Eevee curled up on the grass beside me, thinking about the events that had led to my being on this distant planet we called Terranova.

I tried not to think about Earth too much, knowing that everything there had been destroyed. We, the people chosen for the Ark, had a purpose - to preserve the human race and, ultimately, build a new civilisation.

I sometimes wondered what we would tell our children - whne they were born - about our history. How did we explain the reasons why we had been forced to flee the world we had been born on? And how did we explain why so many had to be left behind to perish in the holocaust the comet brought? There were no easy answers.

* * *

**Vicky**

I ran forward and glared at DS. "Would you mind telling me what's going on!" I demanded.

There was a bit of hesitation at first, but eventually DS told me.

"I'm sorry, Vicky, but the other egg hatched and I'd rather you kept away because Charmander's still a bit overprotective," she said.

Even though DS gave me a good explanation, I kind of took it the wrong way and stormed off in any old direction, away from everybody.

* * *

**DS**

Charmander was attempting to teach Hinochi to become a fighter, but he was too young so all she really did was make him exercise a lot. Sometimes, she overdid it and Hinochi would just plop down exhausted and he and Charmander would take the rest of the day off.

Terranova was beautiful; there was no denying that. But all that beuaty could not erase the sorrow in our hearts. So what was the right thing to do? Should we forget about what happened on Earth and try to push it out of our minds? Some would agree because dwelling on the past is just a waste of time and gets in the way of being productive for the future.

Even if one didn't dwell on the past, occasional memories would spring up and cause problems. So it would be best to try as hard as possible to forget all the sorrow.

Or should we remember everything? Some would say "yes" to this because all past events (including the bad ones) must be remembered, for how could anyone look to the future without the past as a guide? And, if one only remembered the pleasent things, one would be bound to make the same mistakes that were made him the past and be as unprepared to deal with disasters as if they'd never happened before.

Thus, I decided to choose the latter. I would remember and so would Charmander, even if it hurt us to do so. Sometimes, pain was a good thing.

* * *

**Emily**

Vicky was missing.

DS told me she and Vicky had quarrelled - something to do with the second egg hatching and DS's Charmander being a little protective of the little Cyndaquil. Then, Vicky had gone off somewhere in a huff and hadn't been seen for ages.

"I hope she's OK," DS said anxiously. "I feel kind of bad about dissing her like that."

I hoped Vicky was all right as well, but there were no guarantees of anything on Terranova - that business with the monster showed just how vulnerable we were on this uncharted world. "Don't worry," I told DS. "I'm sure she's just sulking somewhere - she'll be back by nightfall."

But, when night came, there was still no sign of Vicky and we were all getting decidedly worried.


	7. Chapter Seven

﻿ 

**

Chapter Seven

**

**Ken**

We sat under the two moons of Terranova, alone by the shores of Lake Arrival. The breeze was cool and gentle and the stars were out in force, more so than from any place on Earth. The unfamiliar constellations reminded me of our alien environment.

"Do you remember where we first kissed?" Jane asked.

I gazed out across the Lake as memories flooded back once again. "Yes - it was night, near the slopes of Mount Mortar. The air was chilly and the wind was, basically, a gale - it blew away my hat and your coat. Remember?"

She smiled. "Yes - and you tried to raise my spirits by cracking around fifty terrible wind jokes!"

I winced at that. "You know," I said, leaning closer to Jane, "we haven't had the time to get together since we landed."

"I noticed," she replied. "And I've been waiting for that time to come." We got closer together, but, just as our lips were about to touch, my Pokegear went off.

"Aw . . ." I stopped just short of swearing. "It's not fair!"

Jane fell backwards onto the grass. "Always happens to us, doesn't it?" she laughed.

"Seems that way," I sighed as I thumbed on my Pokegear. "This is Ken," I said into it. "Who's calling?"

"It's Emily. Have you seen Vicky? We can't find or contact her."

I frowned - this was not going to be good - and glanced at Jane, who shrugged.

"No - we haven't seen Vicky all day," I told Emily.

"We?" Emily replied after a slight pause. "I thought you were going on a quiet walk alone."

"Never mind - I'll wake Pads and we'll have a look round the Camp."

* * *

**Emily**

"Vicky!" I shouted, cupping my hand round my mouth. "Vicky! Where are you!"

We were out searching for Vicky, all of us feeling a little guilty for not paying mroe attention to her. Marle's Ninetales and Ken's Growlithe were trying to follow her scent trail and Trent had sent the Murkrow he had brought with him to search from the air.

But none of us had any real idea where to look - there were God knew how many places a ten-year-old girl could have gone. I patted Meowth's Poke Ball through my pocket and turned to look at the Eevee perched on my shoulder - he was only a baby and I knew he could prove a liability if we got into trouble, but I'd been forced to take him along because he hated being left on his own. The time I tried, he had whimpered so loudly that I had to run back to my module and get him.

"Are Ninetales and Pads having any luck?" I asked Ken.

He shook his head. "Not that I can tell," he said. "Think we should split up and try to cover more ground?"

I considered for a moment - maybe we would get further if we split into two teams, but that would also leave us vulnerable if one of the groups got attacked. But it turned out that we didn't have to worry about that because, at that moment, Trent's Murkrow came winging back with a loud caw.

"What is it, Murkrow?" Trent asked. "Did you find anything?"

* * *

**DS**

Before the Murkrow could answer, a loud screeching noise pierced the air, swiftly followed by the sound of crashing foliage.

Then came a startled "Krowww!" - apparently, the Murkrow had found whatever it was that was making the racket.

* * *

**Emily**

We hurried in the direction of the noise, all of us wondering what it was but hoping it wasn't another alien monster. We had seen enough of those already.

Eevee whimpered softly and I gave him a reassuring pat as I headed in the direction of the noise. Pads was growling threateningly and so was Marle's Ninetales, both Pokemon put on edge by the unknown menace that lurked out there.

Presently, we caught up with Trent's Murkrow, who seemed rather excited by something although we couldn't tell what.

"Murkrow, what is it?" asked Trent. "Have you found Vicky? Where . . .?"

He was cut off abruptly as the screeching began again, a noise so loud and high-pitched that I had to clamp my hands over my ears to avoid being deafened.

"What the hell was that?" demanded Jack when it had subsided and we were able to talk to each other.

"I don't know," replied DS. "It sounds kind of like a Pokemon using Screech Attack - only about ten times louder."

"Whatever it is," I said, "we can't go back. We've got to find Vicky before that thing does."

Steeling myself, I shouldered my trembling Eevee and stepped into the forest.

* * *

**Faye**

On a cold October night, my mother passed away to sleep among the stars. Her sad eyes have been forever ingrained into my memory and I pray she feels no more sadness.

My mother was psychic because my family was related to Sabrina's blood-line. She was able to see the future, a future so distant that it could not be described in words - but, as she would tell me, the future is emotion. Every emotion is what causes the future - even apathy, no emotion at all.

I was not a psychic - such powers skip generations so I only had minimal gifts and could not read minds or levitate or anything like that. Instead, I have the gift of understanding; my mother knew this and wrote down her visions when I was a young child for me to read later. Now I was older and only beginning to comprehend her words. She said she did not understand completely, for it was the future and not meant to be understood.

The government knew the comet was coming a decade before the general public were informed. I was the Ark's historian - it was my job to record our journey and all the events which took place during it.

Yet there was a problem . . .

In the beginning, they had plans for us. The planet we were supposed to land on was riddled with danger, the sole purpose of landing there being to rid us of the weak. But then they had a better idea. They knew there were aliens who did not want humans to infiltrate their societies . . .

Just as I was reading about their plans, I sensed someone coming and had to escape. For twelve days, I hid in the piping and, on the day we landed, my Pokemon concealed me briefly enough for me to escape into the wilderness. I walked for more miles than I can imagine, moving slowly for fear that I might fall into a trap.

I finally settled on a hilltop meadow with a few trees and a small stream. From here, I could see the camp being set up and it gave me a sense of security I hadn't had since losing my mother.

Since it was only early afternoon, I decided to go and search for food. The first plants I approached looked non-toxic, but I decided to use different things I'd learned to judge my safety. First, I released my two Pokemon, a Skiploom my mother gave me for my birthday before she got sick and a Flaaffy someone gave me to look after on the Ark.

Flaaffy immediately went up to the plant and sniffed it, but it made her sneeze and I decided not to risk it. Skiploom, on the other hand, jumped up and down happily by my side before darting off and grabbing flowers. I laughed, remembering how much she loved to be surrounded by flowers. This world was like an unblemished version of Earth . . .

"Flaa!" my Pokemon exclaimed excitedly from where she was standing next to a light-green bush. I ran over and looked at it carefully. There were squarish amber-colored things hanging from the branches and I picked one.

"Is it safe?" I asked.

Flaaffy nodded and I put the item into my mouth, closing my eyes and tasting with all my energy. It tasted like blueberries in maple syrup and I decided to call the fruit mapleberries.

"Good job, Flaaffy," I said. "Now, where is Skiploom?"

Flaaffy bleated, but Skiploom didn't reply and I got worried. "Skiploom!" I shouted to no avail as a breeze whipped into my face and I saw storm clouds in the distance.

Then I heard a soft crying sound, followed by my Skiploom's comforting voice. Immediately, Flaaffy and I began to run towards the sound, arriving to find a girl petting Skiploom. Suddenly, Skiploom looked at me and smiled.

"Loomskippu!" she said, bouncing towards me.

The girl turned around and screamed.

"Hey, don't worry!" I exclaimed. "I'm from the Ark!"

I wondered why she kept running once she knew I was from the Ark? Could she be trying to stay away from it as well? "Wait up!" I shouted after her. "I won't turn you in, I promise - I'm trying to stay away too!"

She didn't reply, but I could still hear her running in the distance. I kept on running until I found the girl breathing heavily and looking as if she was about to faint. I ran up to her.

"Don't take me back there!" she cried out between gasps.

"To the Ark?" I asked. "I'm trying to stay away from there."

"You don't understand," she said, turning away.

"My name's Faye," I told her, shaking my hair back.

"I'm Vicky," she said. "Is this your Skiploom?"

"Yes - and this is Flaaffy."

"I wish I had a Skiploom," she smiled, bending down to pet my Pokemon.

"Flaaf!" Flaaffy suddenly shouted. "Flaa flaa flaa flaaffy!"

"There's a storm brewing," I said softly. "I don't think this hill is safe - we should find shelter."

Vicky agreed and we all looked around for somewhere we could all fit without getting soaked.

* * *

**Vicky**

We sat in the shelter and waited for the storm to pass by. Ditto tried to pass the time by copying Skiploom and Flaaffy.

"So why are you trying to keep away from the Ark?" Faye asked. I kept quiet for a bit before deciding I could trust her.

"If I go back, I'll be in trouble," I told her. "I can't return now . . ."

Faye offered me one of her mapleberries and I gave her a peachberry. I actually preferred mapleberries because they were sweeter.

As we sat in the shelter, we told each other of our lives up until we met.

* * *

**Faye**

"What do you miss most about Earth?" I asked Vicky.

"Earth," she said quietly. "They are so many things I miss."

I nodded, resting my gaze towards the swiling rain and wind. "I miss a lot of things," I admitted. "But more than anything else, I miss things that were part of our daily lives - watching movies, walking in the park. Yes, some of it will be the same here, but much of it can't be the same and never will be. There's just so much here we don't know . . ."

I turned to Vicky and smiled.

"Are you scared?" she asked me.

"I've never thought of it that way before," I told her. "I think I've been a bit preoccupied with settling in and such."

"That's the best thing to do, I guess. But sometimes I miss things that we knew too."

The storm was finally dying down and Vicky seemed to be in a lighter mood. Surprisingly, the rain water was already draining away. "I wonder how the water goes away so quickly," I pondered.

"Underground tunnels," Vicky replied instantly. "A cave network."

Do you know this for a fact?"

"Yes," Vicky told me. "My friends saw it."

I looked towards the woods, thinking I saw some unusual movement. "Why did you leave your friends?" I asked her. "Did you do something to make the Ark people mad at you?"

"Can we please talk about something else?"

"OK," I shrugged. "But now would be a good time to tell me since there's someone coming."

* * *

**Vicky**

"I'll tell you when we get away," I told Faye.

This time I meant it - I really thought Faye was a friend. Of course, I considered everyone I met on the day of the alien a friend. Then it hit me - if they were my friends, what was I running away from? Only DS's Charmander . . .

I put my hand out in front of Faye to stop her. "Do you want to go on? Or do you want to stop running away?" I asked.

I looked at Faye and waited for her to answer.

* * *

**Emily**

As it turned out, finding the source of the screeching would have to wait because, just as we were looking for it, we ran across two girls. One of them was Vicky and the other was someone I'd only seen a couple of times during the whole journey through space.

"Vicky - thank goodness you're safe!" I called as they drew nearer. "We've been looking all over for you!"

"Emily?" Vicky said with an expression of disbelief on her face. "What are you guys doing here?"

"I just told you - we've been out searching for you and . . ." I broke off when I saw the other girl staring at our group as if she was studying us. We stood there silently for what felt like hours before Vicky spoke again.

"I - I thought you didn't want me," she said, her eyes filling with tears as she spoke. "I thought I was getting in the way - so I left . . ." She paused and glanced at her companion. "This is Faye," she added. "And I think you'd better hear what she's got to tell us . . ."

We studied Faye closely - she seemed like a nice girl, somewhat reminiscent of Sabrina, the Saffron City Gym Leader from back in the late twentieth/early twenty-first centuries - wondering just what it was she had to say. I had never spoken to her before, but some deep instinct told me that she knew something important.

Faye took a deep breath and began. "Do any of you know why you were chosen for the Ark?" she asked.

We shook our heads. "Well, I was chosen because I'm a well-known historian and they needed me to keep track of things," she explained. "And I'm also sort of psychic. As for the rest of you . . ."

She paused and we all sat, waiting with baited breath to hear the answer to the question that had dogged all of us for ages - why we had been sent those emails.

* * *

**Faye**

"OK," I said, "as I'm sure you may have realised, none of us were randomly selected like they claimed we were. In fact, we were carefully chosen and so was this planet."

"And why did they choose us? I'll tell you why they chose US specifically. You don't think there's anything out of the ordinary about you? Well, I wouldn't be too sure - every person here has some gift or ability or even a near-perfect DNA sequence."

"And the Ark was built fifty years BEFORE the comet came. Remember that alien that appeared? I can't tell you for sure, but I know that, to some extent at least, it was planned. And, as for this planet, notice how it "just so happened" to fit our requirements - there were so many things that could have been a bit off but weren't. I'm sure you know by now that we were intended to settle this planet."

"But (I think Vicky hinted at it earlier) this planet is already colonised - and not by Pokemon . . ."

I closed my eyes and exhaled, feeling like I'd said all that in one breath. Then, Vicky raised her hand.

"Everything makes sense," she told me. "Except, what do you mean I hinted at something earlier?"

"You mentioned an underground cave system, didn't you?" I replied. "Maybe it's me, but I think we need to find out exactly what's underground. I'm pretty sure the people of the Ark know and we have a right to know as well." 

"We've been there and we nearly died!" exclaimed Emily. "It would be dangerous . . ."

"And this ISN'T?" Vicky said, turning to me. "Either way, we're in trouble and, now that we know, I'd like to find out the truth. Maybe we could even do something about it."

"What do you think?" I asked the others. "I don't really feel like returning to the camp, but I'm so tired it might not be a bad idea."

* * *

**DS**

I was stunned. This revelation was so sudden, so . . . crazy. How did I know this Faye girl wasn't just a really good liar? Maybe she had something personal against this whole idea and was giving us false information to incite rebellion.

There was so much evidence going in favor of what she said. But what if she'd just thought this story over and made it believable by using existing circumstances?

And, even if it was true - and I didn't deny that it might be - what could I do to help? I didn't know whether to believe her or not. Vicky sure did though - speaking of which, Charmander owed her an apology.

"Char, charmander," Charmander objected when I told her so. "Mander char."

"I don't care. If it weren't for you, we wouldn't have worried ourselves sick over Vicky."

After arguing a bit longer, Charmander finally agreed to apologize and led Hinochi up to Vicky, who at first made to back away.

"Don't worry," I said. "Charmander's come to apologize."

Still wary, Vicky stopped backing away. Charmander picked up the Cyndaquil and held him our for Vicky to pet as a peace offering.

* * *

**Ken**

So much for random selection - now, instead of considering myself extremely lucky to have been picked for the Ark, I was wondering why I had been chosen. My physical skills were pretty average and my brains, while quite decent, were nothing special.

When I thought about it, nothing particularly useful came to mind - I wasn't even a great Pokemon battler. So the information Faye carried was either very false or very dangerous - and I didn't like it either way.

Faye was in the middle of talking to Emily when Pads yapped softly, twitching his nose and raising his hackles.

"Faye, Emily, we should move out," I said. "Finish your chat on the way; someone - or something - is coming in this direction."


	8. Chapter Eight

﻿ 

**

Chapter Eight

**

**Faye**

Immediately we began to run in the direction I remembered chasing Vicky. Every now and then, a couple of us would look behind to see if we were being followed, but we never seemed to be quite sure.

Finally, I recognised the area and knew we were pretty much there. We waited quietly, but no-one unwelcome seemed to be anywhere nearby. "Here - climb up this way," I said, motioning towards a tree branch. "Then you'll be there - it's not hard to get to, but it's hard to find unless you're looking for it."

When we got to the platform, I was excited. Being here with other people made me realize just how spacious this place was. I had figured it must have a big enough area to fit all of us, but I was surprised at how much room there was to spare.

We all sat down in the grass. "You'll be able to see everything you need to from here," I explained. "So, before you decide to go back, you must make sure it doesn't look like you tried to get away . . ."

"Why should we trust you?" Ken asked out of the blue. "Some of what you said makes sense, but I still don't understand the rest of it. Why exactly did they choose us?"

I closed my eyes, thinking quietly. "Let's see . . ." I said. "Ken, you were chosen mostly for your astronomy skills - they wanted to make sure you didn't know TOO much, but I suspect you know more than you're willing to tell. You've got courage, plus smarts and agility - and that's very important. Finally, you have curiousity and never take someone at their word before figuring things out for yourself. In other words, you're an explorer and you also seem to have potential in architecture and engineering. So you were, naturally, a good choice."

"You don't even know me and you read me like a book," Ken said.

I shrugged. "Whatever - anyone else wondering?" Everyone raised their hands. "OK, let's start with Marle," I said. "You're resourceful, inventive and a strong Pokemon battler; your records show you had the potential to become a Gym Leader. On this planet, you'd come in useful for taming the local Pokemon, which are definitely a bit different from the ones on Earth."

"Jack," I went on, "you don't care what people tell you to do - you just do whatever seems right to you. You're very independent, but the thing that got you on was your approach - it gives everything a bit of a lighter side, makes everyone's morale go up. Does that sound about right?"

"Pretty much," Vicky commented.

"OK, how about you, Vicky? You know how to avoid danger; you have a knack of narrowly scraping through unscathed even when it seems impossible to do so. And, Emily, you have an outstanding attention span for your age and you can mull over ideas logically in your head. You have that kind of understanding most will never have, but you need to think it over for a short period."

"But, before we do anything else, we need to find more information . . ."

* * *

**Vicky**

"So how are we going to get more information?" I asked Faye. "If it means returning to the Ark, you can count me out."

I wasn't returning to the Ark no matter what. It wasn't what Faye had been saying but the threat of being caught that was the problem.

"Well, part of it mean returning to the Ark," Faye replied. "But we'll also have to look at things like that cavern . . ."

We were wondering how we were going to search almost all of Terranova when Emily came up with an idea. "Why don't we split up?" she suggested.

* * *

**Faye**

"Split up!" I exclaimed. "We could get lost, die, drown, get caught! There are too many things to risk!"

"Still, we might as well find out about our surroundings," Emily countered. "We don't need any more disadvantages than we already have."

"OK, that's a good idea," I admitted. "But we have to be careful - we need at least two people and a battle-ready Pokemon in each team. And food, a map and . . ."

"Wow, Faye! You are such a control freak!" Vicky laughed.

"Is that a compliment?" I grunted as I went through a mental list. "You lot, hold on - I'm trying to think."

Marle let out a guffaw. "Whatever, Faye!"

"You've been thinking enough for all of us," Ken said, rolling his eyes. "Let's get on with this."

"Well, Emily," I said. "What do you say?"

* * *

**Max**

My lungs were bursting and the light seemed so far away. I swam and swam and the light came slowly towards me. "I can make it!" I told myself. "I can make it!"

Then, I heard something behind me. I turned, but it was too dark to what it was so I swam faster towards the light. I was near fainting when from lack of air when I made it out of the tunnel. I didn't know how long I had been in there and I couldn't think now - I had to move away from whatever was behind me.

I ran, knowing Abra was too tired to teleport, and kept going until I was about to collapse. I sat next to a tree and realised the ground was wet so it must have rained. I looked round for something familiar, but all I could see besides plants was a mountain in the distance - maybe I would be able to see camp from there.

I felt better so I started walking. But it was getting dark so I would have to find shelter soon.

* * *

**Emily**

It was all happening too fast. Faye's news that the powers that be had known about the comet all along and had kept the fact of its existence hidden until it was too late to try and destroy it had shocked me greatly. And now it seemed we were going to be used for something - but I didn't know exactly what. All I knew was that we had to break away from the main colony.

"Well I don't know about anyone else," I said carefully. "But I agree with Faye - until we can be sure of their motives in bringing us here, we'd be better off avoiding them. Therefore, I propose that we . . ."

I broke off as I realised that everyone was staring at me as if I was some kind of freak. And, although, I wasn't conscious of it at first, I could feel a strange sensation - sort of like a warm lightbulb - in my forehead. But, then, my head began to ache so violently that I collapsed in waves of agony and was only dimly aware when Jack helped me up and took me back to my module.

The next thing I remember is waking up to find Kate, Faye and Marle sitting beside me. "What happened?" I murmured drowsily as Meowth and Eevee curled up on my bed. "How long have I been asleep?"

"All day," replied Faye. "And I think there's something you should know," she added, handing me a computer printout. "I hacked your files yesterday and it turns out that you . . . well, see for yourself."

As I read the files Faye had given me, I felt shocked, shocked that this had been kept from me all my life.

Those files talked about how an alien race from the planet Valdas had come to Earth many centuries ago and interbred with humans until only a few pure Valdasians remained. But that wasn't all - it turned out that my own family were Valdasians and that I was, consequently, not human.

Finally, there was some stuff that said Valdasians sometimes developed the power to control the elements, kind of like different Pokemon Types. When I read that, my heart began to race as I thought of how my forehead had felt so sore moments before I collapsed.

"What did I do?" I asked, a note of fear in my voice.

Faye looked at me closely. "Scorched a small tree," she said simply. "And, from that, I'd say you were a Fire Valdasian . . ."

She carried on talking, but I wasn't really listening. My mind was too caught up with the idea that I had to power to control fire - it was an exciting prospect but scary at the same time. If I ever lost control of it . . .

"So I'm not here just because I'm so good at problem solving?" I asked.

Faye was about to reply, but Marle butted in. "Hey! Has it occurred to anyone that there's still the small matter of what THEY have planned?"

* * *

**Faye**

I laughed. "I think having an alien among us is more important," I said. "I mean, Emily is still Emily - but this totally throws things out of the spectrum. Could there be more like Emily here?"

Emily blinked; the shock was still fresh for her.

"You're being totally unreasonable," Marle cut in. "Weren't YOU the one telling us about all this? Now, people will actually realise the group is gone, not just one or two people."

I looked at her, a growl rising from deeo in my throat. "We're in way deeper than that - they'll know we're onto them as soon as Emily goes missing." I could feel distrust in Marle's eyes and knew she didn't believe me.

"You don't believe me," I told her.

"No kidding! I've placed all my hopes in the Ark - I trusted them and mean to continue trusting them until I know for sure. But you're asking us to place our lives - which, whatever way you look at it, we destined to lead us to this planet - in your trust when we've only known you a short time."

* * *

**Marle**

I'd survived too much to let the wool be pulled over my eyes. I didn't known who the heck this girl thought she was, but she wasn't going to sucker me into her scheme - whatever it was.

Still I had to admit she'd described me to a T. The nerve of her, I thought - sneaking into my personal files! I couldn't believe the others weren't as offended as I was at this breach of privacy. And then there was that business with Emily . . .

Well, whatever lay ahead, we were going to have to be ready and that meant having some good Pokemon on your side. THAT I could handle.

"Well, I don't know about the rest of you," I said. "But I'm getting outta here. No matter what is coming, I plan to be ready for it."

* * *

**Faye**

Marle fastened a determined stare on the group My heart clenched as I knew what she was going to do and what the result would be. If she was caught, she would be forced to tell all and that would mean the end of our resistence. I didn't care what happened to her, but I wasn't going to let personal feelings get in the way of what we had to do as a group.

"Don't go, Marle!" Emily pleaded. "They're probably looking for us specifically now that I know about that fire thing! It's too dangerous - please, just stay for a bit longer, until you know what's going on!"

Marle kept on going.

DS picked up her Cyndaquil and held him close. "Marle, if you do this we could all die," she pleaded. "I'm willing to take the risk that Faye is right - she has enough friggin' evidence for the time being. Trust us, Marle. Please, trust us."

* * *

**Marle**

I paused. Could it be that Faye might actually be telling the truth?

No, but, if I left and no-one else followed, it would be over. I would have lost them to her and she would have won.

On the other hand, if I stayed, I might be able to talk some sense back into them and turn them back to my side. Then, when I left, they would come with me and Faye would lose what power she had over them.

I hung my head slowly and shuffled back. "I'll come back for you, DS," I said. "But I won't trust her . . ."

* * *

**Emily**

I knew my life would never be the same again after what Faye told me. For days afterwards, I was afraid to do anything in case I set something on fire - and then there was the question of how I'd managed to scorch that tree in the first place. How had I lived out my life on Earth without showing any signs of what I truly was?

On the surface, I carried on as normal. I still trained Meowth and Eevee, grateful for the unconditional love of my Pokemon; they didn't care if I was descended from an alien race. But, deep inside, I felt betrayed, betrayed by my family who I felt should have told me the truth before I got taken away.

I understood why they might not have wanted me to know while I was growing up, but, had the comet not destroyed everything I used to know, I was sure the subject would have been raised sooner or later. I swallowed hard and tried to stop myself from thinking about things that might have been. I had been chosen to survive the comet and the rest of my family had not - and that was all there was to it.

* * *

**Faye**

On my hands and knees, I picked a small fruit from a plant and began to dig out the root. This plant was very sour and its fruits were unusually minty. Eventually, I decided that I couldn't get the sourmint taste out of the roots, so I settled for some of the leaves - which we used for garnish - and the fruit.

I was loading my basket when Flaaffy began bleating in terror. "What is it?" I asked her. But she only continued running in circles.

Walking back to Flaaffy, I laughed and patted her on the head. "Calm down," I told her soothingly. "There's nothing wrong . . ."

As if on cue, the ground began to tremble below me.

* * *

**Ken**

"Any luck?" asked Jack.

"Not yet, but I'll soon have some. How've you been and what brings you down to my little corner?

"Oh, me and Wobbuffet . . ."

"Wobba!" piped up Jack's Wobbuffet.

" . . . were checking up on your morale."

I glanced at the duo. "Er, I'm fine morale-wise," I said, shaking my head. They certainly had their eccentricities. "Hold on - I think I've got it now," I added as I pressed the new transistor into the radio's circuits. "Let's see if we can catch some airwaves . . ."

I scanned the frequencies until some garbled talk came through. I recognised the voice as belonging to one of the Ark's bridge Crew but couldn't discern what was being said apart from a few random words. It seemed to be a transmission to an exploration team, but I couldn't be sure.

"No good - still needs tweaking," I sighed. "Hey, Jack . . ."

But he had vanished. Then, just as I was reaching for the radio again, the flashberry Jack had left on the desk went off so violently that I fell off the stool I was sitting on. Landing on the stone floor, I swore very loudly - then, I saw Jack dashing out of the shadows and sprinting outside laughing his head off.

"YOU . . .!" I yelled. I had begun to curse after him when the ground shook and a faint rumbling could be heard.

* * *

**Faye**

The shaking began to get louder, sounds screeching at my ears like metal being shaped from below.

"Flaaffy, let's get out of here," I said as I began to walk backwards. Suddenly, a huge bnag shot out from below and everything around me seemed to fall to pieces like puzzles that could not be put back together again. The ground began to implode and the screaming sounds continued to nearly shatter my ears . . .

I had never been in an earthquake before, but this didn't seem like any sort of earthquake I'd ever heard of. My feet began to fall from beneath as dirt and rocks were swallowed up and spat out again.

"Flaa!" Flaaffy cried out suddenly. I turned my head to the side just in time to see the tree root Flaaffy was clinging to become detached.

"FLAAFFY!" I screamed to no avail as my bleating Pokemon was hurled into the dirt. Without thinking, I let go of my tree root and dived in after her.

Suddenly, the shaking stopped and a few hunks of dirt fell upon my feet. The earthquake was over and the ground that had swallowed up my Pokemon looked just as it had before. Surely, this had been some sort of bad dream . . .

"Please wake up," I murmuring, closing my eyes and not daring to open them until I could feel a soft blanket at my feet and a pillow at my head. But it didn't come so I just kept my eyes shut until a soft blanket of sleep wrapped itself around me.


	9. Chapter Nine

﻿ 

**

Chapter Nine

**

**Jack**

"NO! FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, TAKE THE WOBBUFFET! NOT ME!"

Suddenly the ground stopped behaving like an A-bomb had just gone off under it and I was left clinging to my Wobbuffet. He was holding onto a tree which had miraculously survived the shake-up. I wondered if he'd heard any of the comments I'd been screaming at the top of my voice.

"Did you hear any of what I just said?" I asked.

"Wobb!"

"Let's just see if we can find the others, OK?"

"Wobb!"

"Look, we'll talk later - right now we have to find out who's dead and who isn't."

"Wobb!"

"We can go hunting for mapleberries afterwards if you like."

* * *

**Faye**

My eyelids flickered as the moonlight cast eerie shadows over my face. "It's not real - none of it's real," I told myself as I opened my eyes . . .

"Why? Why does it always have to be real?" I whispered softly, my hands falling across the tree trunk. The rough bark broke in chunks as I felt round the tree, trying to grab a handhold to pick myself up.

A tear began to fall from my eye and I blinked, trying to hold them back. Crying relieves pain - that was what they told me - and sometimes you have to let it all out. But it hurts because, when you cry, you have to admit that you're there, that it is really happening.

It had been a long time, so long that I wondered why I hadn't come to this realisation earlier. The shell I'd formed around myself was thinning and letting things in. I buried my head in my arms.

"I don't want to let you go," I sobbed through my salty tears. But, as soon as the words came from my mouth, I knew it was time to face the future. I turned my head to the place where Flaaffy had disappeared - then, a realisation came to me. I could feel a strange indecipherable feeling that there was more than there seemed to be.

I swept my hand over the spot, wiping away the dusty layer and began to dig into the dirt with my bare hands. I kept on digging until about two feet had been cleared. I banged my hands on the dirt below and it immediately began disappearing, falling. I recoiled, but nothing began to shake.

Peering over the side, I saw a strange wire mat, big enough for dirt to fall through but strong enough to support a two-foot layer of crusty dirt. I stood up with a weak sort of satisfaction - I had to go tell the others so they could help me find out what this was all about.

I knew that, like the earthquake, that was something I didn't know that was vital to know. Beneath my feet lay the mysterious Tunnels of Terranova and I wanted to find out their secret

* * *

**Max**

I looked round and saw footprints. "Ha! I'll catch up with them yet!" I told myself.

Then the ground began to shake and I groaned at my luck. I saw some dirt start falling under ground, but I was OK where I was. Then it stopped abruptly.

"Hmm - that was odd," I thought out loud. I followed the faintly visible footprints until I saw the others spread around a wide area. I was on high ground so I could see them all.

HEY GUYS!" I called. "UP HERE!"

* * *

**Emily**

I did a double take when I heard Max's voice calling to us from high ground. We hadn't seen him since we had that run-in with the monster in the Forbidden Cave and had consequently given him up as lost - there had even been talk of setting up some sort of memorial in our camp.

"Max!" You're alive!" I called as I hurried up the slope.

I led Max to safety and the others were so relieved to see him alive that we decided to through a party at the camp and broke open a bottle of peachberry juice Jane had made.

Then, just as things were beginning to warm up, Faye came running up to us babbling something about some tunnels she'd found.

"You guys gotta come see this!" she informed us.

"Uh-uh," said Jack, shaking his head. "I've had enough of caves and tunnels to last me a lifetime."

But my curiousity was piqued and so was everyone else's . . .

* * *

**Faye**

I led everyone to the hole - just looking at the fresh dirt made me feel conscious of the soil in my nails. "Flaaffy disappeared down there," I told them.

So you're going to risk our lives for your Pokemon?" Marle growled before I could say anything else.

"No," I said with my hands on my hips. "But there's other stuff down there and it's something . . . well, we have to find out what it is because it's important!"

"Your psychic powers tell you this?" Marle scoffed.

"Partly - they . . ."

"How do we know you're not lying?"

"Lying? Why would I . . .?" I began but quickly stopped. "Marle, you have to accept . . ."

"Me? Accept this?" She said with a laugh. "You're the one who hasn't accepted anything you've been told, always finding out there's something more. Why should we trust your word?"

* * *

**Marle**

Sensing my emotions as usual, Ninetales appeared at my side growling and bristling. So it all came down to this. This would determine our futures and they didn't look too promising if the others decided to follow Faye and her delusions. I only hoped they would see the light and realise what a liar Faye was.

"You see?" I shouted. "No answer! You've been lying to us all along!"

I turned my back on Faye to face everyone else. "I told you before - she's a fraud. Are you going to listen to her propaganda and lies? She could be leading us all to our deaths! Now, make your choice - follow me . . . or her!"

* * *

**Emily**

"No!" I told Marle firmly. "We've got to stick together! I know you don't trust Faye, but something tells me what she's been saying is true. So . . ."

"Not you as well, Emily!" Marle scoffed. "I thought you'd have more sense than to swallow her tripe!"

"Like that stuff about me being an alien?" I shot back. "Was that tripe? You saw what happened the other day, how I scorched that tree - and how could I have done that if I wasn't a Fire Valdasian like Faye said?"

Marle looked as if she was about to argue some more, but, before she could say anything, Jack grabbed her by the sleeve and dragged her along with the rest of us.

It was cold in that cave - and so dark that Faye had to use her flashlight to light the way. I shivered slightly, pulled my jacket tightly round my shoulders and checked Meowth and Eevee were all right before following after the others.

As we progressed deeper underground, I began to notice things, little things that I wouldn't have paid attention to normally but which seemed out of place in this alien cave. In fact, there was something . . . artificial about the place,as if someone had hollowed it out. But who (or what) could have done it and where were they now? This place was beginning to give me the creeps.

* * *

**Faye**

I held my flashlight in front of me. It was blinking and I hoped the battery wouldn't burn out. Supposedly, this flashlight - which was shaped like a Flaaffy - wasn't charged by solar energy or batteries but had all the energy it needed. This confused me no end, but I had until now accepted it as a matter of fact.

"Crud!" I muttered as I realised that, if the flashlight went out, we'd be stranded in darkness.

"Don't tell me your flashlight is gonna go out!" said one of the others.

I nodded sadly.

"That's brilliant!" Jack exclaimed. "We'll be in a darn good scrape if that happens! But, maybe, we'll lose the Wobbuffet . . . In that case, why don't you just turn that flashlight off?"

I rolled my eyes and wondered why we didn't just use DS's Charmander's tail - it would probably be helpful in this situation.

We kept walking silently, hoping my flashlight wouldn't suddenly burn out. I wished I still had my real Flaaffy instead of this flashlight - the thought of her made tears come to my eyes and I knew I had to find her. But I also knew I couldn't risk my new friends, especially after what Marle had said.

It made me feel like the spotlight was on me; one wrong move and I'd be in serious trouble. I was glad Emily and most of the others had stood up for me. None of us had gotten ourselves into this on purpose - there was no way we would have wanted to - but now the only thing we could do was move ahead.

* * *

**Emily**

As we continued to move deeper underground, I wondered just what secrets this world we called Terranova still had to reveal.

Faye told me about how her Flaaffy had fallen into this cave and I understood how she must be feeling. It would have been the same if I'd lost Meowth or Eevee. It's funny how you get attached to your Pokemon to the point where you would protect them at all costs - I guess that was why Marle gave her Espeon to Jane rather than leaving her behind to die on Earth.

Talking of Marle, she was following us with a rather sullen expression on her face, having only come down here because we'd insisted on it. It had been obvious from the start that she and Faye were not going to get along - their personalities were too different for one thing . . .

A sudden commotion up ahead jolted me out of my reverie and I dashed forward to see that the floor had collapsed and Vicky was dangling perilously over a gaping chasm, one so dark that we had no way of telling where the bottom was. "Vicky! Hang on!" I yelled as I tried to reach forward and pull her to safety. Unfortunately, my weight proved too much and the next thing I knew I was tumbling through empty space.

I closed my eyes, bracing myself for the end, but, just when all seemed lost, I heard Max's voice in the distance telling his Abra to Teleport us to safety. Once Vicky and I stood on the edge of the hole once again, both of us shaken but unhurt, we began to speculate about what (if anything) lay at the bottom of that chasm.

"Faye, shine your flashlight down there," Ken instructed.

Faye tried, but the beam didn't reach far enough and all we could make out were some vague shapes. "So much for that idea," she said, turning to the rest of us. "Does anyone have a Pokemon that knows Flash?"

* * *

**Jack**

"Let's throw Wobbuffet down there," somebody suggested. I realised it had been me.

Wobbuffet threw me a hurt look and made a point of not dignifying my comment with a reply - actually, he was just spacing out again. I prodded him with the toe of my shoe.

"Wobb?"

"Wobbuffet," I said in my most sincere tone of voice, "would you mind being so awfully kind and Flashing for me?"

I ignored everyone else's coughs of embarrassment from behind me and smiled at Wobbuffet. Sure he couldn't actually perform the required move - I was willing to bet Max's Abra could though - but I really felt that, down here in these dingy subterreanean caverns, we had made a connection. I smacked him round the head for his incompetance, but he knew I didn't mean it.

* * *

**Faye**

"I could've sworn someone had a Charmander . . ." I muttered.

"I do!" DS immediately exclaimed. "I've got a Charmander - duh!"

I blinked. "Well, why can't we use it? Its tail is better than a flashlight?"

"That took you a while," Marle muttered as she shoved past to get to the front. "We still need a Pokemon to go down there . . ."

Hey! This is NOT a cave exploration - we don't need to see all the passages," I shot back. "Let's just find the main passage."

* * *

**Marle**

I was so tempted to throw Faye into the chasm that I actually felt my fingers twitching in anticipation.

This was pure insanity. How could I have let myself be dragged into these dark caves filled with who knew what? Why hadn't I turned right back around and gone back to the camp on my own?

Then I realised I was afraid - afraid to leave the group, of abandoning my friends, of being alone on this strange world. Somewhere deep inside, I realised that I couldn't survive on my own on this planet and I'd need all the friends I could get . . .

"No," I whispered. "I'm not going to do it. Faye has some purpose yet, but whether for good or evil I don't know. Remember when we read _The Lord Of The Rings_ back on Earth?"

Ninetales nodded; I'd read to her and Espeon.

"Even Gollum had a purpose in the end," I went on. "In the big picture, everyone has some purpose and we cannot decide the fates of others . . ."

* * *

**Emily**

We were still no nearer solving the problem of finding out what was at the bottom of that chasm - the only Pokemon any of us had that knew Flash was Faye's Flaaffy and she was missing - when I saw an amazing sight.

Two humanoid figures emerged from the chasm, flying towards us on magnificent white wings. They appeared to be female (at least they had long hair) and quite young, probably around my age. And one of them was carrying Faye's Flaaffy under her arm as she swooped down and landed in our midst.

Most of us did not know what to make of them; the idea of winged people went against all that was natural and verged on the paranormal, the supernatural. But, then again, I wasn't exactly normal myself since (as I had recently discovered) I had the power to control fire - and there was something else as well . . .

One of the two strangers handed Faye her Flaaffy and spoke to us in an English so perfect that it belied her obviously alien origins. "There you are - safe and sound," she said in a light voice, looking at us as we stared at her speechlessly. Jack was the first to break the silence.

"H - how do you . . .?" he stammered, unable to take his eyes off the two girls.

"Know your language? We pick up its meaning via telepathy," the other girl replied. "By the way, my name's Henclu and my companion is Zorral - and what, may I ask, are you doing on Valdas?"

My heart seemed to jump in my chest at Henclu's words and the impact of them sent me reeling. I knew precious little about the world my ancestors had come from and to find out that this planet we called Terranova WAS that world was beyond shocking. It was totally unexpected, a contradiction of all we had held to be true ever since we arrived.

Marle, however, was suspicious. "How do we know you're telling the truth?" she demanded. "Are you sure this isn't some trap to lure us into your clutches?"

Zorral laughed lightly. "If you want proof that this is Valdas, look over there," she said, pointing to me. "She had Valdasian blood; I sensed this the moment you entered this cavern . . ."

"So?" I demanded, wondering where all this was leading. Henclu came and put her arm round me.

"Emily," she said, having evidently learned my name via some sort of telepathy, "I'm sure you've been wondering why your powers didn't show up until now. Well, it was basically because Earth's magnetic field suppressed them and you had be on Valdas for them to start to emerge."

At length, Ken cut in to remind us that we still had the matter of the chasm to deal with. It was Zorral who provided the solution.

"Not to worry - we can carry you over in the wind," she said. "Henclu and I are Air Valdasians; that's why we've got wings."

* * *

**Vicky**

I was really freaked out by flying. I'd never like travelling by plane back on Earth, but being carried in the wind was too weird.

I screamed to be let down, but, as soon as I reached the ground, I was fine again.

* * *

**Jack**

"That does it! I'm not even going to try and deal with this anymore - any of it!" I snapped at Henclu and Zorral.

"You there, girls with wings - did you hear me! I'm not planning on sticking around listening to your crazy myths and I'm certainly NOT going to believe all of us fit together like some handy jigsaw puzzle! You may look like angels, but you just want to use us!"

"And, before you get into the whole "life story" bit, I'd like to remind you that we are not the saviours of humanity. And I don't care what you call this place in your own language - to me it's Terranova."

And do you know what humans did to colonise their home planet? Well, they destroyed all opposition by hunting it to extinction. So don't even bother crawling out of this pit we found you in, you Valdasian freaks because, the minute you do, somebody'll point a gun at your head and pull the trigger."

"And, if they don't, _I_ will! Consider this a friendly welcome from the real face of humanity!"


	10. Chapter Ten

﻿ 

**

Chapter Ten

**

**Emily**

"No, Jack!" I pleaded as he continued to threaten Henclu and Zorral. "Remember what happened on Earth when explorers came across other races? Remember how loads of tribes got wiped out because someone thought their way of life was wrong? Well, we mustn't go down that path . . ."

Jack just laughed at me. "I figured you might say that, seeing as you're of their stock," he told me shortly. "I still say they're up to something . . ."

I was about to say that that wasn't the case, that racism was wrong no matter who the target was, but Zorral cut me short.

"Listen," she said in a firm voice, "there's something all of you need to know about this world - so pay attention because it's very important."

"And what exactly do we need to know?" demanded Trent.

Zorral heaved a long sigh and began, gazing round at us as we sat in the mysterious cavern she and Henclu had taken us into. Actually, it was beginning to look less like a cavern and more like - I searched for the right words - a nuclear bunker with vast orbs lighting it. "It's a long story," she said. "But it all started many centuries ago, when the Valdasians were among the most technologically advanced races in the galaxy."

"Our people prospered, but there were tensions between us and wars broke out as different tribes fought for supremecy. Then came the terrible day when a device called a Doomsday was unleashed; it killed literally millions and turned our planet to a wasteland, much the same as yours after the comet hit it."

"Some of our people took shelter underground - in this very cavern - while others, like Emily's ancestors, fled into space to find new homes on other planets. Many decades passed before our world began to recover and, just when we were about to recolonise the surface, you came along - our leaders would have had you all killed if it wasn't for Emily . . ."

"Me?" I gasped. "But why should I have made such a difference?"

"Because," Zorral said with a smile, "after the Doomsday, we drew up a creed that said: Valdasian shall not kill Valdasian."

* * *

**Ken**

"Wise words?" I muttered. "But, this Doomsday . . . what was it? A bomb of some sort?"

"It was . . ." Henclu paused as if she was thinking " . . . a device beyond your imagination, vastly different to whatever weapons you might be familiar with."

I considered challenging her to try me, but from the expression on Henclu's face I could tell I had touched on a sensitive subject. I decided to let it rest for the time being.

"Well, I guess we should be grateful you're not going to kill us," Jane remarked. "You two really are good company."

"Looks like there's a lot more to this than just getting off Earth and populating another planet," I said, glancing at Faye and wondering how this contact with the Valdasians would end up figuring with the other colonists.

"So this is the sort of place your race lived in for years," added Marle. "Where's everyone else?"

"Ah!" Zorral replied. "You'll meet them soon enough . . ."

A look of worry momentarily crossed Jack's face.

* * *

**Faye**

I held Flaaffy in my arms for a long time before I finally put her back in her Poke Ball. I didn't care how she had fallen into this place, but, as long as she was back, I didn't want to question the Valdasians.

Everything was starting to make sense in a strange way - their words worked quite well with what I knew. But I frowned. "They aren't telling us something," I whispered to Jack.

"No kidding!" he replied a bit angrily. He reminded me of Marle, just not so . . . problematic.

"It's not a bad thing," I whispered. "But it's important. Whatever it is that they're not telling us, they think we're better off not knowing. But I have a feeling that this imformation will make all the difference."

"You mean we should stay and give these freaks a chance!" Jack shot back.

"Shh - that's not what I mean. Just don't get them angry with you by being racist - you're not like Emily so they can kill you without breaking their laws."

Jack clearly didn't like my idea, but I couldn't exactly do much about that.

The appearance of the Valdasians had originally struck me with terror. Their wings cast shadows, reminding me of vampires and hearing their strange accents with vocals completely differents from those of humans sent shivers down my spine. But, after that, there was a cool calm like an afternoon breeze on Earth.

They were so human, yet I felt the difference between us. It was almost as if they had something we didn't - superpowers if you will. It reminded of the envy I'd always felt after reading a comic such as _X-Men_. Having abilities would be incredible and it had always seemed like I was second best to any superhuman characters. Now, with real superhumans around, I felt immensely uncomfortable. Even though Emily was a bit different, she had human blood in her without question . . .

It reminded me of what it had been like back home on Earth. I never lived up to my parents' expectations; my psychic powers were so minimal it was as if I didn't have any. Though they never said anything, I knew I had let my parents down.

Since I left Earth, my powers had grown stronger, but there was no way I was exceptional any more. I could never fit in with this strange race no matter how hard I tried. I just wasn't like them . . .

"I hope you will enjoy your stay on Valdas," Henclu was saying.

"Terranova," I said quietly.

"Excuse me?"

"No, it is NOT Valdas, it's Terranova," I told her. "If you wanted to call it Valdas, you should have been less cowardly and greeted us face-to-face. I suggest you don't underestimate the power of Earthlings - we may seem weak and we may not have your advantages, but there's one thing we have that has made us climb to the top. You know what that is?"

"It's pride - pride helps us achieve goals we could never achieve otherwise, to bend limits that were previously unbendable. You Valdasians should have shown pride in this planet; you should have ventured above ground and welcomed us to what used to be your planet. Yes, I said USED to be - because it's OUR planet now. We declared it as ours and you didn't try to stop us. That makes Terranova ours and it makes you cowards - so you better start to show us some respect!"

* * *

**Marle**

I suddenly had a thought that was both terrifying and reassuring.

Was this real? If not, I must have gone crazy at some point and might even still be on Earth, locked in the loony bin but still on good old terra firma. I mean, the idea of hundreds of Shiny Pokemon, a conveniently habitable planet in the middle of nowhere and now these Valdasians all added up to insanity for the rational mind.

If this was real, at least I wasn't crazy. That was something positive because on the whole we were pretty much screwed. We had our Pokemon and Emily had her powers, but we couldn't be sure what those creatures were capable of.

That was why I was more tempted than ever to throw Faye into the chasm.

* * *

**DS**

I kept silent the whole time and so did Charmander and Hinochi as they sensed the tension.

But my mind was boiling over with thoughts that threatened to spill out of my mouth in a torrent of jibberish.

* * *

**Emily**

As Henclu and Zorral led us into their world, I couldn't help wondering what was going to happen to us. All I knew was that these Valdasians had something planned, something that involved an alliance with my friends.

There was something carved on the wall, hieroglyphics in an unknown language. As we walked by them, Henclu stopped and shone a torch in the direction of the carvings so that we could see them properly.

"No outsiders have ever seen these," she said. "But I feel you should because it will help you to understand . . ."

"Understand what?" demanded Jack. "All I know is that you've been feeding us some crazy story."

"About why you had to come here," Henclu replied, ignoring his comment about the whole thing being "some crazy story". "The message carved here is ancient, a prophecy - it doesn't translate into your language very well, but what it basically says is . . ."

She paused dramatically before continuing.

" . . . the Tribes of Valdas shall rise with the coming of the Ones from the Sky."

"That's us, right?" I said nervously, hugging my Eevee and patting my Meowth's Poke Ball. This was starting to get weirder and weirder . . .

* * *

**Jack**

Why are we following Henclu and . . . whatever the heck the other one's called?" I asked Wobbuffet.

He wandered off. "No, for goodness sake!" I yelled. "We're not making a break for it yet . . . look, forget I said anything . . ."

"And, for your information, I am NOT a racist - I'm a specieist," I told DS as we lingering at the back, blatantly ignoring whatever it was these people were trying to communicate to us. "There's a big difference. That's part of human nature."

She looked at me and went back to listening to the aliens.

* * *

**Vicky**

I stood at the back as everyone except Jack looked at the carvings on the wall.

I wasn't too keen on Henclu and Zorral, but I supposed winged people who seemed to know Emily could be trusted. Then, I began to wonder what they were.

Were they the results of an experiment that went wrong? Or were they freaks that were trying to lead us into a trap?

* * *

**Faye**

I folded my arms angrily as I listen to the rather annoying Henclu and her friend Zorral drone on about those carvings.

Upon closer inspection, the rocks looked old and crumbly. I could sense that they weren't hoaxes, but I couldn't be sure . . .

"So, you think that we have some sort of divine purpose?" I said to no-one in particular. "That'll be the day . . ." I added with an amused whistle.

* * *

**Jack**

"Jack? Where are you?"

It was Vicky, who had evidently had enough of staring at walls for one day. I quickly hurried back into the cave to reassure her that I hadn't been dragged off by the Valdasians.

"I'm here," I told her. "I was just . . . admiring the architecture down here."

She folded her arms and looked at me sceptically. "You mean you don't trust the freaks," she told me flatly. She may have been just a kid, but Vicky certainly knew how to put two and two together - I'd give her that much.

No, they're not freaks as such - it's just . . .well, I don't like them," I said.

"What if they're up to something?" Vicky asked.

I looked at her for a second, thinking that was an interesting theory. I didn't believe it for a minute, but I needed all the people I could get on my side so I thought I might as well play along.

"They could be, Vicky. They could be . . ." I admitted.

"Hey, guys - what's this? A board meeting or something? Come on, please - this is really serious."

We both turned to look at the rest of the group, who had themselves turned to look at us. It was Emily who had spoken as usual and I almost felt sorry for her; she was obviously buying into this story they were feeding her.

* * *

**Emily**

"So where do we go now?" I asked Henclu and Zorral.

Henclu replied by pressing down on the wall with the palm of her hand, triggering a loud rumbling sound as the wall began to slide across as if it was a screen-door. We all gasped at what was concealed behind that door, a large vehicle that looked like a cross between a submarine and a spaceship.

"We take a trip into the cavern you call the Forbidden Cave," she replied as she flew towards the vehicle with Zorral following in her wake. I was about to follow them when I realised my friends were hanging back fearfully.

"Come on!" I urged. "What are you waiting for!"

"Well, to start with, I thought we weren't supposed to go into the Forbidden Cave," Jack said lamely. "And besides . . ."

I cut him off before he could object any further. "We weren't supposed to go after that alien either, but we did," I reminded him. Where's your sense of adventure? Now, come on! Henclu and Zorral need us!"

"Well they'll have to manage without me because I'm not going back in that cave if you pay me," Jack said shortly. He sat down on the floor and refused to budge no matter how hard I argued and pleaded with him.

In the end, Ken grabbed hold of Jack and dragged him to his feet, frog-marching him towards the submarine (or whatever it was). "You'll be safer with us than here alone," Ken said shortly. "And, besides, we might as well try and find out exactly what that creature is while we're at it."

"Could it be some kind of native Pokemon?" Bianca asked, clutching her Xatu's Poke Ball as she spoke. She had not been in the Forbidden Cave when that monster appeared and only knew about it because of the warning the Captain had given afterwards.

I shouldered my Eevee and checked Meowth's Poke Ball was secure. "That's what we're about to find out," I told her.

Once we were all safely in the strange submarine-like craft, Henclu pressed a few buttons on the control panel. "Converting to aquatic mode," she said to no-one in particular.

As we descended into the crystal clear waters of the underground lake, I wondered for the umpteenth time what surprises lay in store for us now.

* * *

**Max**

I didn't like the thought of going back into that cave because of what happened to me last time. But I went anyway, since I might get to see what I had been running from.

* * *

**Emily**

"It's OK, Eevee," I whispered to the cute furry Pokemon curled in my lap. "We're gonna be OK."

But I wished I could be as certain as I sounded. Ever since we arrived on Terranova (I still called it that despite knowing that this was Valdas, my ancestral home) it seemed that we had gone from one crisis to another. I sometimes wondered if we would ever be able to settle down here and get on with our lives.

"I hope this thing holds up," Ken was saying to Henclu.

Henclu, at the submarine's controls, turned round and smiled. "It's made of Valdasium and that's the strongest metal on this planet," she said. "So it should . . ."

She was cut off abruptly as something unidentified appeared on the radar. "We've got company," she informed us as she made to steer us out of the path of whatever it was. Then, I saw it through the windscreen, a monsterous abomination of slimy tentacles and huge teeth that looked like they could do some serious damage.

"My God!" I gasped. "What IS that thing!"

It was Zorral's turn to look at us all gravely. "That," she said, "is the creature you encountered - a Margasel."

"Marga WHAT!" echoed Jack, who would have disembarked there and then if he'd had the chance.

"A Margasel," Zorral repeated. "A fierce aquatic creature native to this planet."

"Whatever it is," said Vicky, clutching my hand fearfully, "we've got to get out of here!"

* * *

**Max**

As The Margasel started roaring, screeching and screaming, I knew this wasn't the thing that chased me in that tunnel. That creature had sounded different, sounded fiercer.

"Are there any other creatures in here?" I asked the Valdasians. "Bigger than that thing, I mean."

"Not that I know of," Henclu said.

"Nothing that's been proved to exist anyway," added Zorral.

I didn't like the sound of that . . .


	11. Chapter Eleven

﻿ 

**

Chapter Eleven

**

**Emily**

"For God's sake, Henclu - pull up!" DS yelled as the Margasel rammed us again. None of us had ever experienced anything like it; that creature seemed hell bent on doing as much damage as it could and, even though the sub was made of Valdasium, we wondered how long it could stand up to such punishment.

"That's what I'm TRYING to do!" Henclu shot back. "But that thing won't get off our tail!"

"I wonder why it's attacking us," commented Marle, who stared down at the Poke Ball containing her Ninetales as if for the last time.

"I'm not sure," Ken said from where he was staring at the Margasel with revolted fascination. "But it might be because . . ."

He was cut off as the Margasel rammed us broadside, smashing through the windscreen and causing us to start taking on water. We all screamed as it darted towards us as a predator darts towards its prey and made to swim to the surface as fast as we could. None of us wanted to end our days as Margasel fodder . . .

Then, the creature grabbed Bianca - who was the weakest swimmer out of the group - and began to drag her back under the water. I didn't stop to think before swimming after it, not wanting to let anyone suffer the fate that awaited her if I didn't do something. As I drew level with the Margasel, I could feel my forehead getting hot again and wondered what would happen if I used my Fire powers underwater.

I did not have long to wait and find out. Suddenly, the water began to heat up and I was catapulted through the air on a huge jet of steam. Landing, I found the others gathered around me looking relieved and scared at the same time.

"Wow!" Kate said, holding her hand against her forehead. "That was really something, Emily!"

"Looks to me like Margasels can't stand hot water," added Faye. "I guess having a Fire Valdasian around has some advantages."

I looked at the others; all of them appeared to be present except for Bianca. For a moment, my heart sank - metaphorically speaking of course. "Bianca?" I called, rushing to get back into the water and search for her no matter how long it took or what state she was in when I found her.

"She got blasted out at the same time as you," Zorral informed me. One of her wings seemed to be damaged and she was holding it limply. "But," she added as I rushed to where Ken, Trent and Marle were gathered round something, "she's taken quite a beating."

* * *

**Marle**

"She's not breathing!" I gasped as I knelt beside Bianca. "Who knows CPR?"

Ken had already started the resucitation process by the time I'd finished speaking. I knew a little CPR and I watched Ken to refresh my memory of the classes I took back on Earth. When he got tired, I took over.

We were about to switch back when Bianca coughed and started spitting up water. We turned her head to the side so she wouldn't choke while we checked the rest of her injuries.

The Margasel had grabbed Bianca by the ankle when it tried to drag her under and, somewhere in all the chaos, it had simply snapped the bones. She could have broken some ribs as well, what with all the thrashing. But it was too dark to tell the full extent of her injuries so we'd have to transport her somehow.

Bianca tried to sit up and Trent supported her back as she continued to cough weakly. Then I noticed a dark line running down her face and along her cheekbone . . .

"She's got a head wound as well," I said. "She must have hit the rocks when she thrown onto the shore - anyone got something we can use to stop the bleeding?"

* * *

**Emily**

We knew we had to get Bianca to safety even if that meant returning to the the colony. And we would have a lot of explaining to do because, not only had we gone into the Forbidden Cave against the instructions of the grown ups, we also had two Valdasians with us.

"What are we gonna do about . . .?" I asked, nodding towards Henclu and Zorral.

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," Jack replied from where he and Max were carrying Bianca on a makeshift stretcher. "Right now, we need to get Bianca seen to.

"What next?" I wondered out loud as, with Eevee perched on my shoulder and Meowth's Poke Ball in my pocket, I followed after my friends.

So much had happened lately that I could hardly keep track of it all. Not only had I found out that I was descended from an alien race, it had turned out that this planet I had been taken to was the one my ancestors had come from.

We still had the matter of Henclu and Zorral to deal with - and there was no concealing what they were. I could easily pass as an ordinary girl, but their wings immediately marked them out as alien. Indeed, looking at them, I was reminded of a Christmas card my sister Rowena sent me a couple of years before the comet; it showed an angel in a long red robe with her wings spread out wide. Could it be that angels were in fact Air Valdasians?

Faye was still a little suspicious of the Captain's motives and it took a lot of persuading to get her to tell him about Henclu and Zorral. To our surprise, he just nodded as if he had known about them all along.

"Frankly, I wasn't expecting them to make contact so soon," was all he said.

"Expecting who to make contact?" asked Marle. "I don't understand . . ."

The Captain looked at us as he pondered what to say next. "The original inhabitants of this world," he told us. "You see, we haven't been entirely honest with you - this planet was not chosen because it was the first Earth-like world we came across. Rather, the Ark's Crew picked up a signal - an SOS if you will - coming from here."

He turned to his desk, flicked on his playback equipment and fiddled about with it for a moment before a familiar screeching sound pierced the air. Even though the volume was turned down low, it was still impossible to endure for more than a few seconds. "That's the signal we picked up," the Captain told us as he switched the machine off.

"So THAT'S what that noise we heard the other day was," commented Jack.

"You've heard this before? Where?" the Captain asked him.

"In the forest while we were looking for Vicky," Jack replied.

"I see," the Captain remarked. "It's going to take some time to deal with all this . . ."

With that, he sent us back to the Colony, telling us to wait until he called us back. I decided to go straight to the medical hut and tell Bianca what was happening and headed there to find Kate sitting with her Oddish on her lap and holding the Poke Ball that housed Bianca's Xatu.

"How's Bianca doing?" I asked.

"I wish I knew," she said, her eyes dark with worry. "All they can tell me is that she's unconscious . . ."

* * *

**Max**

We were all given a quick check-up to make sure we were OK.

Later, I was woken by a crash and ran outside. In the middle of the Lake, a great beast was emerging from the water. As it did so, it pushed water out of the Lake and knocked over nearby trees - this was the crashing I'd heard.

I knew it wasn't a Margasel. It looked like a mix between Gyarados and the Legendary Birds Lugia and Articuno.

* * *

**Emily**

I was just returning form the medical hut, where Bianca was in a fairly stable condition, when Max came running up to me. "Emily, you gotta come see this!" he said in an excited rush.

"See what?" I asked, wondering what it was he had discovered. "What's going on?"

He took a deep breath and began to explain. "I was up at Lake Arrival when I saw it," he told me. "An enormous creature that looked like a cross between a Gyarados, a Lugia and an Articuno . . ."

"And I suppose you want to investigate," I said, rolling my eyes. To be honest, we'd been doing a lot of investigating lately - although that was only to be expected on an unfamiliar planet - and the novelty was starting to wear thin.

"No . . . well . . . yes," Max stammered, unsure if he wanted to go and find out what that creature he had seen was or not. "Er, maybe we should ask Henclu and Zorral - this is their world and they know more about it than we do," he suggested at last.

I went off to look for Henclu and Zorral, hoping they could tell me what that creature Max said he'd seen could be. The fact he said it looked like Lugia combined with Gyarados and Articuno got me thinking; I remembered a legend bak on Earth that Lugia was the Great Guardian, the one who protected the balance of nature. What if the thing Max had seen was this world's Great Guardian?

And then there were some other questions I wanted to ask my fellow Valdasians. First off, what exactly had happened at the Doomsday and why hadn't we found any ruined cities? Finally, where were all the other Valdasians? I was just mulling these questions over in my head when I ran into Faye, DS and Vicky.

"What's going on?" asked Vicky.

"Have any of you seen Henclu and Zorral?" I asked them. "Only, Max saw something and he thinks they might know what it is."

* * *

**Ken**

"What is that?"

I glanced over my shoulder to find Trent pointing at the strange metallic object I was looking over. "Hi, Trent," I said. "No, I don't know what this is - I just appropriated it from that Valdasian craft we were in."

"You stole something?"

I gave Trent an exasperated look. "Well, it would've been pretty useful at the bottom of that underground lake," I said, carefully turning the object over in my hands. "What do you make of it?"

"Looks like a cross between a portable tv and a fax machine with a bit of toaster thrown in," Trent said. "D'you know how to turn it on?"

"No idea," I replied. "And I'm in no hurry to either - it could have a defense mechanism." I stood up, put the device in my pack and suggested we checked up on Bianca.

"Sure - sounds good," Trent said.

I glanced round at the colony. The first farms had been established and the inside of the Ark had been converted into a rudimentary factory, while the large prefabricated domes were being replaced with proper concrete and titanium structures. I wondered if we would be able to find some Valdasium to alloy with titanium.

Once we got near the medical hut, we spotted Faye, DS, Vicky, Max and Emily gathered outside.

"What's this all about?" asked Trent.

"I dunno - you go on inside and I'll catch up with you," I said as I approached the group.

* * *

**Emily**

"What's going on?" Ken asked as he approached us.

"Ken," I said in reply, "you haven't seen Henclu and Zorral, have you? Only Max saw something out in Lake Arrival and he figured they might know something about it."

Ken looked like he was about o reply, but it turned out that he didn't have to because Henclu and Zorral appeared on the scene at that moment. Both of them were walking since Zorral's wing still hadn't recovered from the mauling it received from the Margasel.

"That was good timing," DS told them. "We were just about to go look for you two."

"Looks like we saved you the trouble," said Henclu. "But, tell me, what is it you wanted to talk to us about?"

Max took a deep breath and began to explain. "This afternoon, I saw a creature in the Lake," he told them. "It was huge - sort of like a cross between Gyarados, Articuno and Lugia . . ."

Henclu and Zorral looked at him blankly; they knew what a Gyarados was since a pair had been brought on the Ark (owing to the size restrictions on passengers' Pokemon, none of them had brought one). But, since Articuno and Lugia were Legendaries, it had been impossible to catch them in the short time that was available before the Ark had to leave Earth.

Faye, who was good at drawing, pulled out a notepad and pencil and proceeded to draw a couple of rough sketches of Articuno and Lugia. "They looked something like that," she told the two Valdasians.

"So," I went on, "do you know of anything that looks like those two Pokemon with a bit of Gyarados thrown in?"

All of a sudden, there was a commotion as a group of colonists who'd been over by Lake Arrival came running back with expressions of sheer terror etched on their faces. One of them, a boy named Ronan (whose chosen Pokemon was a Beedrill) managed to gasp out the words "It's . . . gigantic!"

"What's gigantic?" asked Vicky.

"A creature . . . out in the Lake! It just . . . soared out of the water!"

"What did it look like?" I asked, wondering if what Ronan and his group had seen could be the same creature Max was talking about.

"We had the video camera with us, so we managed to get a brief shot of it," Ronan told us. With that, he switched on the portable computer he was carrying and loaded up a video file. For a brief moment, the image of a creature with a blue body and flowing tail like Articuno, wings like Lugia and a face like a Gyarados' but without the crest of bone at the neck appeared on the screen.

"That's the thing I saw!" gasped Max.

Henclu and Zorral looked at us with serious expressions on their faces.

"There's only one thing that could be," Henclu told us, pointing to the image on the screen.

"What?" Max demanded. "What is it?"

"The thing all Valdasians hoped they'd seen the back of after the Doomsday," Zorral replied. "The Devontrania."

"What exactly is a Devontrania?" I demanded, wishing fervently that this planet would quit springing surprises on us.

In reply, Zorral began to tell of the fierce Devontrania, creatures that Fire, Water and Earth Valdasians used as steeds. For many centuries, the people of Valdas lived peacefully alongside these magnificent beasts - until the day came when war broke out between the four races. Then, one of the four (no-one had ever been sure which, beyond a firm conviction that it wasn't THEIR race) began corrupting the Devontrania and training them for war. But the creatures were too powerful and began to rampage out of control.

"It was a dreadful time according to the Histories," Zorral said. "What with war raging and Devontrania causing havoc, nobody felt safe."

"We thought the Devontrania were wiped out in the Doomsday," Henclu added. "But now . . ." She paused with a frown on her face. " . . . now I'm beginning to wonder."

The appearence of the Devontrania gave us fresh cause for concern. So far, there had been no trouble, but, from what Henclu and Zorral told us, it was only a question of time before it started causing havoc.

We were all uneasy and our Pokemon could sense it. I was sitting beside Bianca with Meowth and Eevee beside me, both of them refusing point blank to let me out of their sight when Faye and Vicky came in with their own Pokemon.

"How's she doing?" Faye asked, nodding towards Bianca.

"Holding up," I replied. "To be honest, I'm surprised she survived that Margasel attack. I know I probably had a lot to do with it, but still . . ."

I was cut off abruptly as the sky darkened as the we were in the path of an eclipse and a loud screeching noise like the call of a great bird of prey echoed throughout the camp. Meowth and Eevee whimpered softly and I stroked them reassuringly as Faye and Vicky did the same with their Pokemon.

"What's going on!" Vicky yelled, her eyes wide with fear.

She received her answer when the door opened and Marle walked in. "Grab your Pokemon and run!" she ordered us. "We're under attack from that Devontrania thing!"


	12. Chapter Twelve

﻿ 

**

Chapter Twelve

**

**Vicky**

When I heard what it was, the one thing I thought about was getting Bianca to safety. Ditto couldn't help since it needed to see a Pokemon before it could transform, so I asked the others if they could help.

"What about Ninetales?" Marle asked.

"Perfect," I said.

Marle sent Ninetales out and helped Bianca onto her back. She gave Ninetales some instructions and let her go.

* * *

**Emily**

The whole camp was a scene of mass confusion as people raced to get out of the path of the rampaging Devontrania.

As I raced for cover with Marle, Vicky and Faye (Bianca was riding on Marle's Ninetales since she wasn't yet fit enough to run) I saw Jack arguing with his Wobbuffet. As usual, the blue Pokemon was spacing out, acting as if nothing was amiss and this was something which happened as a matter of course. Jack, meanwhile, was trying to get his Wobbuffet to move or be caught in the line of fire.

"Wobbuffet - come on!" he yelled as he struggled to pull the Wobbuffet along. Wobbuffet's only response was to slap himself on the head and start shouting in that annoying tone so typical of his kind.

"Wobba wobba wobba!"

"You dumb creature - can't you see we're being attacked!" Jack grabbed his Wobbuffet by the hand and began to drag him away. It made me wonder about the bonds that exist between a trainer and his or her Pokemon; Jack often complained about what a liability his Wobbuffet was, but he clearly loved the blue blob deep down.

"You OK there, Jack?" I called as I drew level with him. "You'd better get undercover before that Devontrania gets any closer!"

"Sure!" Jack called back. "As soon as I can get this great blob to make a move!"

I glanced back at the wreckage of what had once been our camp, now smashed to pieces by the rampaging Devontrania. Then, just as I was wondering where we were going to go now, a giant shadow loomed over us and I heard the thunderous beating of giant wings.

"Get down!" yelled Ken's voice as he appeared on the scene with Pads the Growlithe at his side and Trent and Ronan running behind him . . .

* * *

**Marle**

"This is insane!" I shouted over the chaos.

A regular stampede of humans and Pokemon had trampled the ground beneath them as they searched desperately for a refuge from the creature wreaking havoc behind us. I noticed Jane in the crowd and pushed my way towards her.

"Ninetales is taking Bianca to safety," I explained. "I need Espeon back - I can't face this thing without a Pokemon."

Jane's eyes widened in surprise. "You're actually going to face that thing!"

I nodded. "I promise, if we survive this, I'll catch you whatever Pokemon you want."

"Hey - no problem!" She tossed me the Poke Ball and ran on with the group.

I slowed to a stop and turned to face whatever that creature might have to throw at me. I opened Espeon's Poke Ball and my loyal Pokemon appeared before me, cooing happily now that she was reunited with her original owner.

"I know, I missed you too!" I said with a laugh. "Come on now - we've got a creature to fight!"

* * *

**Max**

When I saw someone confronting the Devontrania, I had to go back.

I was too far away to see who it was, but, when I got closer, I saw that it was Marle and Espeon. "Hey! Don't try fighting it alone!" I yelled.

I let out my Abra as I ran and told him to get ready to use a Psychic Attack.

* * *

**Emily**

I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw Marle and Max actually try to fight the Devontrania with their Pokemon - surely such a thing was suicidal.

The creature threw back its head and gave a bellowing cry as it prepared to launch into an attack. I had no idea what it was going to do, only a strong instinct that it was bound to be a really powerful attack and no ordinary Pokemon would be able to withstand it. Where was a Legendary when you needed one?

"Marle! Max! Get out of there!" I yelled as I drew level with them. I could feel Meowth's Poke Ball in my pocket but did not dare let her out to face that thing that was attacking us. - Eevee had, after a great deal of persuading, agreed to let Kate take him to safety. But my words came a second too late and, the next thing I knew, I was lying on the ground with Marle, Max, Espeon and Abra nearby. They had all been knocked out.

It was then that I knew we were in serious trouble and that knowledge was compounded moments later when Ronan came running up to me. "Have you seen my Beedrill's Poke Ball?" he asked. "I seem to have dropped it in the crush . . ."

"No," I told him honestly. "No, I . . ."

Before I could complete my sentence, the Devontrania swooped down on us, grabbed Ronan by the back of his shirt and began to carry him away. It was then that I knew I had to do something to stop it. I was of Valdasian descent so, hopefully, I had the power to vanquish it at least temporarily.

I drew myself up to my full height and stared the Devontrania full in the face. "Let him go!" I yelled at the top of my lungs.

* * *

**Vicky**

I turned around when I heard Marle shouting and kicked a rock since I was going the wrong way. I pushed past the others and ran into the fray.

As I got closer, I saw Ronan get taken away by the Devontrania. I had to think quickly. I sent out Ditto and told it to Transform into the Devontrania.

I closed my eyes and hoped . . .

* * *

**Emily**

I watched as Vicky ran onto the scene and told her Ditto to Transform into the Devontrania. I saw her climb onto the Ditto-Devontrania's back and heard her order it to take her into the air.

Then, as I watched in horror, I saw the real Devontrania drop Ronan and turn its attention to Vicky. It was then that I realised what must be happening, that the Devontrania must think the Ditto was another of its kind and be defending its territory.

"Vicky! Look out!" I yelled as, heedless of the danger, I ran between the two battling creatures. The Devontrania launched itself at Vicky's Ditto, firing a powerful beam of energy that caused the Ditto to resume its usual pink blob shape and sent Vicky plummeting to the ground.

I quickly reached forward and caught her in my arms. "Nice catch, Emily," she said as I set her down on the ground. Then, before I knew what was happening, I felt my head get hot again like it did the day I scorched that tree and a surge of energy coursed through my body as I became a living pillar of fire . . .

Struck full on the flank by my hot flames, the Devontrania screeched in pain and flew off back to wherever it had come from. But I knew we hadn't seen the last of it; it was bound to attack again sooner or later and five kids alone in the wilderness would be a perfect target. Even though I could probably hold it back with my fire powers, I couldn't do so indefinitely.

"Come on!" I told the others. (Marle and Max had recovered, as had Espeon and Abra) "Let's go find the others! Did any of you see where they went?"

Ronan pointed. "Down to the tunnels with Henclu and Zorral," he told me. "But I'm not going anywhere without Beedrill."

I was about to tell him to forget his Beedrill and come on - after all, he had nearly been killed because of it. But, before I could speak, Vicky produced something out of her skirt pocket.

"Does this belong to you?" she asked as she handed Ronan a Park Ball, one of the green Poke Balls they used to use for the Bug Catching Contest near Goldenrod City.

Ronan nodded. "Thanks - that Beedrill won me the Bug Catching Contest back on Earth," he said. "So I couldn't just . . ."

"Anyway," I cut in, "hadn't we better go join the others?"

* * *

**Ken**

"Come on! Move it!"

More and more people ran past me to another hidden cave, another entrance to Terranova's tunnel system.

"Is that everyone?" Jane called from behind me.

I shook my head. "I haven't seen Marle, Vicky . . ." A loud screech filled the air, cutting me off and causing some people to look round in alarm.

"That'd be the Devontrania," I muttered. It sounded like it was in pain . . ."

Jane nodded. "I caught word that some security personnel were setting up an emplacement near here."

Then, Trent tapped me on the shoulder. "Ken, we got a transmission - the Ark's spaceward!"

"WHAT!"

"They're up!" Trent told me. "The Ark's taking off!"

My jaw dropped. "Why are they doing that!" I demanded. "Most of the camp's been devastated - we need the weapons!"

Trent shook his head. "They won't risk it while the Devontrania's around," he told me.

"The Ark's no combat ship, but it's still got enough firepower to level a city," I said. "Is there any way we can contact it?"

"No. I tried to tell 'em already, but the order's been given to head for orbit."

Jane looked downcast. "I can't believe the Captain would do such a thing," she said. "Why would he give such an order?"

"He didn't," said a voice. We all turned and there was the Captain, looking redder than a beetroot and angrier than I had ever seen him.

* * *

**Emily**

I ran towards the group with Vicky and the others following in my wake, arriving just in time to hear the Captain ranting on about the "insubordinates" who had taken the Ark into orbit without permission.

I had a fairly good idea who was involved - people who didn't trust the Valdasians and wanted to chance it elsewhere rather than accept the help of an alien race. But that was no help to those of us who had been left behind - unless someone knew how to build a replacement Ark, we were stranded and at the mercy of the Devontrania.

I did not have time to think about this before someone - I later realised it was Ken - grabbed me from behind and hustled me into the caves. "Hurry, Emily!" he urged. "We were getting worried about you." Then, he added that Henclu and Zorral had something to give me.

"Give me?" I echoed, wondering what surprises the two Valdasians had in store now.

"I don't know any more than you," Ken told me. "All I know is that Henclu asked specifically for you and my guess would be that it has something to do with you being of their stock."

I pushed my way through the crowd of people as I kept an eye out for Henclu and Zorral. Luckily, their wings made them pretty easy to spot and I quickly found them talking to Kate and Faye. I sidled up to the girls and quietly alerted them to my presence.

They all turned as one and smiled at me. Then, Henclu reached into her pocket and produced a beautiful crystal pendant on a silver chain. I could not identify the stone it was made from, but it was shaped like a large teardrop.

"It's . . . beautiful," I breathed, admiring the way it seemed to sparkle in the artificial light of the cave.

"It's also the legacy of the Fire Valdasians," Henclu explained as she fastened it round my neck. "For centuries, it was passed from mother to daughter, but it disappeared after the Doomsday and wasn't rediscovered until last year. Since then, we've been keeping it safe, waiting for a female Fire Valdasian to wear it once again . . ."

"But why does it have to be me?" I asked with a confused frown. "Aren't there any others who could wear it?"

Zorral shook her head. "There are no fire Valdasians on this planet apart from you - they all fled after the Doomsday," she explained. "But all the other races - Water, Earth and Air - some of them stayed behind . . . and I think its time your people met the rest of ours."

Kate handed my Eevee back to me and he licked my hand in greeting. Then, with Henclu and Zorral in the lead, our colony of Earth survivors began to make its way further into the realm of the Valdasians.

Needless to say, some people were less than willing to trust them. "Are you sure this is a good idea?" asked Jack as we made our way down a long and winding corridor. "What if they're leading us into a trap?"

"We'll have to take that chance," whispered DS, patting her Cyndaquil, Hinochi, who was perched on her shoulder. "For one thing, they might be able to help us against the Devontrania."

I sure hoped so - the last thing I wanted was to spend the rest of my life as a fugitive.

* * *

**Vicky**

Even though we were going to have to work with these people, I still didn't trust them. As we walked down the corridor, I watched Henclu and Zorral's every move.

We entered a room that seemed like any you might have seen on Earth, but I had to be careful not to trigger any hidden buttons because we didn't know how advanced their technology was. As I began searching for hidden trapdoors, Marle walked over to me.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"I was . . . um . . . doing a dance to scare away the Devontrania," I said, hoping that Marle at least would not ask any more questions.

* * *

**Emily**

The room we were in seemed to have no exit that I could see - the only way in or out was via the door we had just come through and there had been no sign of anyone so far. So what had happened to the other Valdasians? I remembered Henclu and Zorral promising that we would meet the rest of their people in due course - so WHERE were they?

My question was answered when Zorral stepped up to the far wall and pressed down on it with the palm of her hand. Suddenly, the wall slid aside like the one that had concealed the Valdasian sub (which had been left at the bottom of the underground lake after our run-in with the Margasel) and revealed the most fantastic sight any of us had seen since arriving on this planet.

An entire underground city lit by glowing orbs greeted our eyes. The "streets" - at least I assume one could call them that since there was no traffic, not even a Ponyta and cart - were thronged with Valdasians. A few had wings like Henclu and Zorral, so they were obviously Air Valdasians as well - but the rest were wingless and, if I hadn't known better, I would have assumed they were humans. But these were evidently the Earth and Water Valdasians Henclu had spoken of.

As our group entered the city, every Valdasian head turned to look at us as if they had never seen humans before. One of the males shouted something in his own language (I couldn't understand it because, being only partly of their stock, I had no telepathic abilities) and a barrage of stones suddenly began pelting in our direction.

"Get out of the way!" Jack yelled as the stones continued to zoom after us.

"What's going on?" demanded Kate, clutching her Oddish's Poke Ball fearfully.

Her guess was as mine, but I couldn't exactly blame him for being suspicious of strangers. Maybe, if I could convince him that I was one of his kind, he would cease his attack.

Wasting no time, I gave Eevee to Kate and handed Meowth's Poke Ball to Faye, whispering instructions for both girls to keep an eye on my Pokemon while I did what I had to do. I steeled myself and stepped into the path of the flying stones . . .

"Emily!" I heard Vicky's voice call out. "Get out of there!"

"No, Vicky," Henclu told her. "Just watch . . ."

Watch for WHAT? That was what I was tempted to demand as I ducked and weaved in a bid to avoid the stones. But it turned out that I didn't have to bother because the pendant Henclu and Zorral had given me suddenly began to glow and, without even thinking about it, I was able to send blasts of fire through the palms of my hands, vaporising the stones.

As the last of the stones was reduced to dust, the Valdasian male looked at me in astonishment.

"You - you wear the Pendant!" he said in perfect English. "Then, you must be a Fire Valdasian!"

"Yes, I am," I admitted. "At least partly . . . But why did you set those stones on us?"

"To test you," he told me. "I wanted to see if any of you showed courage in the face of danger and you did. You stood up and faced those stones without a thought to your own safety."

I laughed weakly. "To be honest, I was a little scared," I admitted.

"But you faced them anyway," he added. "And that takes . . . sorry, I haven't introduced myself. I'm Daumos and I'm an Earth Valdasian."

I had already gathered as much. "My name's Emily," I told him. "And these are my friends from Earth . . . or at least most of them are," I added, glancing round at Henclu and Zorral. "And we seek your people's help against a fierce beast called the Devontrania."

* * *

**Max**

As I was walking around aimlessly, I collided with a tall humanoid being.

"Um . . . hello?" I said. "Are you another Valdasian? What kind are you? You don't look like an Air Valdasian - you don't have wings. Are you an Earth or a Water Valdasian?"

I was drenched in water in seconds.

"OK, that kinda shows you're a Water Valdasian - nice to meet you," I said. "I'm Max and I'm friends with Henclu and Zorral - and a Fire Valdasian too. Who are you?"

His only reply was to say something in his native language and drench me again. "I think I'll go now," I said as I retreated, keeping out of range of his water.

Then, I ran into a long tunnel and found a huge pit. Unfortunately, I found that pit by falling in . . .


	13. Chapter Thirteen

﻿ 

**

Chapter Thirteen

**

**Ken**

"So, this Devontrania is something you can't handle yourselves?" asked Daumos.

"No - not since our ship left with most of our weapons," the Captain cut in, striding purposefully up to Daumos. "I am Captain Monash, acting leader of this group."

So the Captain's name was Monash. He'd never told us that and I guessed I should have looked at the Crew rosters.

"Absolutely," Monash went on. "So, about this Devontrania . . ."

"Enough of this," said Daumos. "Matters of security should be discussed behind closed doors. Follow me."

"Well, what about the rest of us?" someone asked.

Daumos spoke to a nearby Valdasian in his own language and led Monash down the main road in the direction of a huge construction that reached to the roof of the cave. Then, the Valdasian Daumos had spoken to addressed us.

"Please listen," he said. "We have established a refugee camp on the outskirts of our city. If you will follow me . . ."

"Does anyone else have a bad feeling about this?" asked Jack. "I wonder what surprises that camp has in store."

"Your pessimism was not requested, Jack," I muttered. "Besides, I'm not sure how well we'd do without their help . . ."

Jack nodded. "Still, I didn't mind when we were out on our own," he said. "No rules, no control . . ."

"What about having no protection?" I reminded him. "And we're here now - so better go with the flow and see what happens."

"What if I don't like what happens?" Jack asked.

"Well, come to me and we can sort something out," I said with a grin on my face.

* * *

**Marle**

"Well, this is yet another lovely mess we've gotten into," I muttered to myself.

I was starting to feel more and more like the anti-social one of the group, talking to myself all the time - or maybe just the psychotic one. But what difference did it make in the long run?

We reached the refugee camp after hiking to the outskirts for about five minutes. It consisted of a wide empty field-like area, completely devoid of anything useful.

"They sure set that up in a hurry, didn't they?" I remarked sarcastically. I fingered my Poke Balls unconsciously, remembering that I owed Jane a Pokemon as soon I could get out and catch one.

As we set about making the area habitable, I wondered what was happening at the meeting between Daumos and Monash.

* * *

**Max**

As I woke up, I wished I hadn't; it was just as dark - if not darker - when my eyes were open.

I got up and felt around to find myself in a very large area. I decided it was best to stay still.

"HELP!" I yelled. But there was no reply and I went back to sleep in the hope of waking up elsewhere.

* * *

**Emily**

It was while we were assembling in the area the Valdasians had set aside for us that it occured to me that Jane didn't have Espeon with her.

"Espeon never really belonged to me," she said when I asked her why she had given the Psychic Eevee evolution away. "I was just looking after it for Marle."

I chanced to glance at the Eevee I was holding and wondered what I would evolve him into when the time came. He was so young and had barely mastered any Attacks apart from Tackle and Sand Attack, but, given time, I knew Eevees could be evolved into one of five different forms. Trouble was, to get a Jolteon, Flareon or Vaporeon, I would need to find the appropriate Stones and I didn't know if they existed on this planet. Since there was already an Espeon in the group, that most likely meant my Eevee would become an Umbreon.

Presently, Daumos and some of his fellow Valdasians came to tell us what they had decided.

"For many years, the Devontrania has been the stuff of legend, a story told to frighten our children," he told us. "But our records show that, long ago, this creature was a dangerous reality. And, in the light of the recent discovery of a living specimen, it is clear that we must work together in order to drive this menace out of our lives."

"Just so long as this doesn't involve putting our lives on the line . . ." muttered Jack.

Ronan silenced him with a frown. "Listen, you," he said angrily. "That thing nearly killed me - I wouldn't be standing here if it wasn't for Emily. So, if fighting that thing means joining forces with the Valdasians, I'm in."

After Daumos and his people had left, I sat down on the ground and let Meowth out of her Poke Ball. She and Eevee promptly ran off to play together and I wished I could be a Pokemon and not have to worry about Margasels or Devontrania or comets slamming into planets. I sometimes wondered if things would ever get back to normal (or as normal as they could get around here)

* * *

**Vicky**

I stood at the back and listened to the ideas for defeating the Devontrania.

Even though I was going to work with the Valdasian, I wasn't going to trust them - and I definitely wasn't going to stay in this refugee camp thing. I was going out on my own - well, not quite on my own. I was going to ask Jack to go with me since he didn't trust the Valdasians either.

Yes, annoying as he and his Wobbuffet might be, he was the only other person who felt like I did. I didn't care what his answer would be. If it was no, at least someone would know I was gone; if it was yes, I wouldn't be on my own.

* * *

**Emily**

"I hope we can trust these Valdasians," Kate remarked as we sat watching her Oddish playing with Meowth and Eevee.

"I don't think we have much choice - and I'm not saying that because I'm of their stock," I told her. "So we're stuck with them at least until we get this business with the Devontrania sorted . . ."

I sincerely hoped that wouldn't take too long - I was sick of always being on my guard, always having to watch out for the unknown dangers that lurked on this planet we called Terranova but which our hosts knew as Valdas. If only that wretched comet hadn't crashed into Earth, I would still be living the life of an ordinary girl.

But I wasn't an ordinary girl - and, but for that comet, I might never have found out. Also, I now found it hard to imagine life without all the people I'd met on the Ark and in the time that had passed since. I was just reflecting on the whims of fate when Ken, Trent and Ronan appeared on the scene.

"Hi, Kate and Emily," Trent said to us. "You haven't seen Max, have you? Only, we can't seem to find him in the camp."

"No - we haven't," I said as it occurred to me that it was the second time Max had been separated from the rest of the group.

"Well, he was with us when we came, so he must still be in the caves somewhere," said Ken. With that, he released his Growlithe from his Poke Ball and patted the nearly full-grown Pokemon on the head. "Pads," he whispered in the Growlithe's ear, "I need you to go find Max. Find Max! Go on!"

"Maybe we should get Marle and her Ninetales to help," Kate suggested.

I agreed - after all, having two Pokemon to look for Max should make the job easier than it would be with just Pads on his own - and went to Marle's tent. I arrived to find her sitting beside her Ninetales, who was curled up around something on the floor. Looking closer, I saw what it was - a Pokemon egg.

"H - how did that get there?" I asked, pointing to the egg.

"Better ask Ninetales," Marle replied. But I didn't need to - it was already obvious that Marle's Ninetales must have mated with one of the other Pokemon in the camp.

"I've been thinking," Marle went on. "Jane helped save my Espeon, so I guess it's time I repaid her - when that egg hatches, I'm going to give the Vulpix to her."

"Let's just hope our Valdasian friends can sort the Devontrania out first," I said cautiously.

* * *

**Marle**

I reached over to scratch Ninetales under the chin. She raised her muzzle ever so slightly, uttering a soft growl that sounded more like a Meowth purring.

I grinned and looked back at Emily. "I'm coming with you," I said. "Jane can watch over Ninetales and the egg for me - Espeon is just as good a tracker."

Emily nodded before turning and exiting the tent. I smiled at Ninetales again and tried to explain why I had to leave her with another human.

"Espeon and I have to go help find Max," I said. "There aren't many humans left on this planet - we can't lose anyone else. And you know how well Jane took care of Espeon . . . Please, just behave for her and I promise I won't be gone long."

I saw something in Ninetales' expression that said, "You'd better not . . ."

* * *

**Emily**

While we waited for the others to get back (hopefully with Max in tow) Jane and I sat with Marle's Ninetales and studied the egg.

I wondered which of the male Pokemon in the colony was the father - the only ones that belonged to members of our little clique and were compatible with a Ninetales were Ken's Growlithe, DS's Cyndaquil and my Eevee, but they were all still young themselves. Could it be Vicky's Ditto? I had never really understood how Ditto breeding was supposed to work, only that any breedable Pokemon could be mated to a Ditto and (regardless of the non-Ditto parent's gender) the offspring would be the earliest evolutionary form of the other Pokemon. As such, it was a popular means of breeding Pokemon when you didn't have a female of the desired evolutionary line . . .

Sorry, I'm getting sidetracked into a discussion of Pokemon breeding. Jane was stroking Marle's Ninetales and I was doing the same with my Eevee, both of us trying not to think too much about what was going on out there. On the surface, the Devontrania was more than likely laying waste to the community we had fought so hard to build, wrecking it with its powerful energy blasts. So, whether we like it or not, we would have to stay here with the Valdasians until that thing was dealt with once and for all.

"Do you think the Valdasians can defeat that thing?" Jane asked. "Only, I'd hate to spend the rest of my life hiding underground like some common Diglett . . ."

I was just about to agree when there was a commotion outside the tent, swiftly followed by Kate, Bianca, Faye and Henclu bursting in. "Emily, Jane, we've got trouble," Henclu told us as we looked up with a start.

"What is it this time?" I asked.

Bianca - who had been healed by one of the Valdasian medics - looked at me gravely. "Vicky and Jack had gone back to the surface," she said simply.

"But why?" I demanded desperately. "They knew it was dangerous with that Devontrania out there - why would they risk their lives like that?"

But, even as I said it, I knew why they had done it. Jack had never completely trusted the Valdasians - he had made that clear on the day we met Henclu and Zorral - but I still couldn't believe he would rather risk his life out there. And as for Vicky, she had never said anything, but she had always seemed a little wary around the Valdasians. So were they so prejudiced against the race who sort to protect them that they would rather take their chances against the Devontrania?

We had to find out. "Come on!" I urged the others as I picked Eevee up with one hand and Meowth's Poke Ball with the other. "We'd better go look for them. Jane, bring Ninetales and the egg - Marle and Espeon have gone to look for Max."

Just as we were about to leave, Ken and Marle appeared on the scene. "Faye, we need your Flaaffy," Ken told us. "There's a big dark pit in one of the tunnels and . . . well, we're gonna need a Pokemon who knows Flash to see what's in there."

"No sign of Max?" asked Faye as she took out her Flaaffy's Poke Ball.

"No," said Marle, shaking her head as she spoke.

"Actually, Max isn't the only person who's missing," I volunteered. "Bianca just told me Vicky and Jack went back to the surface - we were just about to go look for them when you came."

Marle looked at us gravely and cursed under her breath as she realised this meant we would more than likely have to face the Devontrania.

"Do you know anything about a pit?" I asked Henclu.

"I'm not sure - there are tunnels even we haven't explored," she told me. "But it could be one of the old silos where they stored the Doomsday."

Do you think Max could be down there?" asked Bianca.

I shrugged - it was possible, but I didn't know for sure myself. "I think we'd best divide into teams," I said. "Ken, you go with Faye and Henclu and see if you can find Max. Marle, Bianca and I will go back to the surface to look for Vicky and Jack. The rest of you, wait here and DON'T WANDER OFF - we can't risk losing anyone else."

* * *

**Marle**

"Jane, come here a sec!" I called as we were leaving the camp.

She walked over and tried to hand me Ninetales' Poke Ball and the egg, but I only took the Ball. "The egg's yours," I said. "Ninetales will understand - please, take care of it. OK?" Jane nodded seriously and I turned to join Emily and Bianca.

I took stock of the Pokemon we had with us - Emily's Meowth and Eevee, my Ninetales and Espeon and Bianca's Xatu. I only hoped we'd be able to handle whatever we found on the surface.

"Feeling better?" I asked Bianca, wrapping my arm around her shoulders.

She smiled back weakly. "Yeah, I guess," she replied. "I'm still kinda tired but I'll be all right."

"Good. Well, I'll say one thing for these Valdasians - at least they've got some decent healers," I said, making sure to keep my voice low and out of Emily's range of hearing. Nothing against Emily personally of course, but how much did we really know about these people?

* * *

**Vicky**

I stretched my arms out as I looked around. It didn't look too good - thanks to the Devontrania - but I didn't mind. I was still a bit unsure about the dangers, but I just had to get away from the Valdasians.

Between us, Jack and I didn't exactly have the best Pokemon on Terranova. I had a Ditto that could only Transform and he had a Wobbuffet that was pretty stupid and only knew a few Attacks.

"How about that?" Jack asked after we had walked around for a bit. He pointed to two trees, but I was completely clueless.

"What's that for?" I asked.

"To sleep in," he replied. "We didn't come up to the surface for nothing."

The idea of finding someone to sleep had just crossed my mind . . .

* * *

**Emily**

"Any idea where they went?" asked Bianca as we searched the wreckage of what had once been our camp.

"No," I called back, picking my way through the ruins of the module I had been assigned to on the day we landed on Terranova. It all seemed so lon ago now, a time when we were ignorant of this world's secrets and I had no idea I was connected to it. "All I can tell is that they don't seem to be here so . . ." I paused as something caught my eye and I bent to pick it up.

It was an envelope and it had my name written on the front in my mum's handwriting. She must have slipped it in among my things before I left Earth, hiding it so well that I hadn't found it until now. I tore it open and began to read:

_Dear Emily, _

I know I will more than likely be dead by the time you read this, but I feel you should know a few things, things I will now never be able to tell you in person.

First, there is something I must tell you while I've still got chance. Emily, I am not fully human - my ancestors came from a distant planet called Valdas. I wish I could have told you this before, but alas fate has dictated otherwise . . ."

I gasped as I read that my mum had been like me and forced myself to carry on reading.

_. . . Have courage, Emily, no matter what happens to you or where in the Universe you end up. Look after your Meowth and remember that life goes on . . ._

At that point, Marle came in to find me standing there holding Mum's letter in my hand. "Hey!" she said. "I thought we were supposed to be looking for Vicky and Jack! What's that you've got there anyway?"

I turned round and looked her full in the face. "It's a letter my mum left with me," I said. "She was a Valdasian too and she wrote that to tell me."

But there was no time to think about this because we still had to find our two friends. They were goodness knew where on this planet, at the mercy of the Devontrania and with only a Ditto and a Wobbuffet between them.

* * *

**Marle**

I hadn't meant to sound so harsh with Emily; it was just that I was worried about Vicky and Jack. I left her to her thoughts and began to search for any supplies we might be able to salvage from the decimated campsite.

A while later, I was stuffing my pack with as much as I could carry without collapsing. I had just finished and was struggling to get it fully closed when Emily called to us from the edge of the site.

"Come on! Finish whatever it is you're doing and let's move out! Vicky and Jack are still out there somewhere!"

* * *

**Emily**

As the three of us made our way through the forest, a terrified scream rent the air.

"That's Vicky!" exclaimed Bianca. "Something must be seriously wrong!"

WE hoped it wasn't what we all thought it was, but there was no way of telling unless we followed that scream and saw for ourselves. As we headed in its general direction, I sent up a quick prayer (rare for me, since I've never been particularly religious) that Vicky and Jack would be found safe - or as safe as anyone could be with that Devontrania on the loose.

As we neared the area where we had first found the entrance to the underground system, I spotted something that caused me to literally stop in my tracks.

The Devontrania was hovering menacingly over two figures; I knew they had to be Vicky and Jack because they were the only ones outside apart from Marle, Bianca and I. It was tempting to leave them to their fate - after all, it was their refusal to trust the Valdasians that had landed them in this mess - but I knew I couldn't do that. Vicky was just a kid after all and, as for Jack, he might be a bit of a jerk at times, but he was still one of us.

"We've got to get them out of there," said Bianca.

"I know - but how?" Marle said, wringing her hands. "None of us has a Pokemon large enough to take on that thing."

"Yeah," Bianca sighed. "If only I'd been allowed to bring my dad's Charizard . . ."

I chanced to glance at the Pendant I wore round my neck and noticed to my amazement that it seemed to be glowing with a light so intense that, had it been night-time, would have lit up the whole area. Then, before I had time to think about it, I sent a powerful blast of fire - stronger than anything I had yet produced - in the Devontrania's direction. Taken completely by surprise, it took off into the sky and disappeared from view.

Marle knelt to examine Vicky and Jack. Luckily, Jack didn't seem too badly hurt - which was more than could be said for Vicky, who had been knocked unconscious by something. "What happened?" Marle asked Jack, even though I had a feeling I knew what the answer would be.

"Devontrania . . . attacked us," Jack explained. "Used its energy blasts - Vicky took the brunt of it . . ."

Wasting no time, I lifted Vicky off the ground and turned to go with Marle and Bianca following in my wake. "We'll have to take her to the Valdasian medics," I said. "After all, they healed Bianca so, hopefully, they'll be able to heal her as well."

I was so concerned about Vicky that I failed to notice Jack wasn't following until Bianca pointed this out.

Marle and Bianca went back to fetch Jack and returned moments later, dragging him along between them.

"Hey!" he yelled. "I'm not going back with those freaks! Let go of me!"

"Oh shut your wordhole!" I snapped impatiently. "Do you realise that Devontrania could have killed you? Besides, we've got to get Vicky seen to . . ."

But there seemed to be no reasoning with Jack - every time we tried to get him to come with us, he would refuse to budge. In the end, there was no other option but to knock him out somehow. But how? I had Vicky to deal with and Jack was taller than both Marle and Bianca.

"Jack," Bianca said as she released her Xatu from his Poke Ball, "I'm really sorry about this . . ."

She told her Xatu to use his Night Shade Attack, which he did, sending a blast of shadowy energy in Jack's direction and putting him temporarily out of action. "Quick, Marle!" she ordered as she took hold of Jack's legs. "Help me get him back to the caves!"

"Do you think Max has been found yet?" Bianca asked as we carried Vicky and Jack to safety.

"I don't know," I replied. "But I sure hope so - we can't risk losing anyone now . . ."

Presently, we saw the entrance to the caves just up ahead . . .

"Quick! Through here!" Henclu yelled as we approached the caves. Then, she paused when she saw what had happened to Vicky and Jack.

"What's wrong with them?" she asked anxiously.

"The Devontrania got Vicky so we had to bring her back here," I explained. "And Jack was being a little . . . unco-operative, so Bianca got her Xatu to use Night Shade and knock him out."

"Bring them in," Henclu ordered. "I'll go fetch the medics."

At that point I remembered something. "Any news of Max yet?" I asked.

"We found him in one of the old silos, just like I thought," Henclu told me. "I used my powers to lift him out on the wind - he's with Ken and Trent right now and there doesn't seem to be too much harm done."

I was relieved to hear that Max was OK, but we still had to get Vicky and Jack seen to. And then there was the matter of the Devontrania.

Henclu must have read my mind somehow because she turned to me with a determined look on her face. "Daumos has been making plans with your Captain Monash," she told me. "We move against it tonight."


	14. Epilogue

**

Epilogue

**

**Emily**

The battle against the Devontrania had been raging for some time, with humans and Valdasians unitedin their quest to drive this menace out of our lives. Henclu, Zorral and the other Air Valdasians had taken to the air in unison and the armour they wore made me think of a picture of a harpy I saw once. Among other things, they had attached barbs to the tips of their wings so they could serve as weapons - it made me understand why some of my fellow colonists were a little wary of these people.

Everyone else was in one of the several sky craft that Daumos and Monash had prepared. I was with Marle, DS and Max and all four of us were rather nervous at the thought of what we were doing.

"Are you within range of the Devontrania yet?" Ronan asked via the intercom that had been rigged up on all the craft.

"Negative," I replied. "I can see it, but Jack's groups are in the line of fire." To be perfectly honest, I was briefly tempted to fire on Jack to teach him a lesson for all the trouble he had caused, but the fact that he was my friend stayed my hand as it hovered over the controls.

Just then, Faye came through on the intercom, her voice tinged with panic. "Emily, that thing's turning on you!" she yelled. "Get out of the way!"

I tried to steer the craft clear of the Devontrania, but it moved a fraction of a second faster and, the next thing I knew, we were hurtling towards the ground. "Emily, what's wrong?!" DS demanded as I tried to pull out of the dive.

"The controls are jammed!" I shouted back. "We'll have to make a crash landing!"

This was it, I thought grimly. We were about to become history and there seemed to be nothing we could do to stop it. But I hadn't reckoned on the Air Valdasians who, the moment they saw we were in trouble, conjured up the largest tornado any of us had ever seen and carried us safely to the ground. But, with the Devontrania on the loose, was being on the ground any safer than being in a craft that was about to crash?

Before I could consider my options, my Pendant began to glow more intensely than it had before and I suddenly felt a hot stream of flames shoot out of my body and soar skywards, directly towards the Devontrania. It bellowed in pain as the flames seared its body and, for the first time since all this began, I knew what my Pendant was. It was the one thing that could rid this planet of the menace that was the Devontrania . . .

Drawing on all my energy, I called on every bit of fire power I had, ignoring Marle when she, terrified that the effort might kill me, yelled at me to stop. All that mattered now was making sure that creature would never menace anyone else. Finally, after was felt like forever, it crashed to the ground, never to rise again. In the same instant, my Pendant stopped glowing.

That's the last thing I remember until I woke up to find everyone, including the Valdasians, gathered around me and Meowth and Eevee curled up on my chest. "What . . . happened?" I asked, wondering just how long I had been asleep.

"You gave us quite a scare," said Vicky as she sat down beside me. "Right after the Devontrania fell, you passed out and we thought you were going to . . ."

"Obviously I didn't," I said, realising what she meant. "How long has it been anyway?"

"Nearly three months," said Jane as she came into the room with a baby Vulpix in her arms. The egg Marle had given her must have hatched while I was unconscious and, like all Pokemon conceived on Terranova, this Vulpix was a Shiny, a beautiful golden colour. "We've been rebuilding after the damage that thing caused and the Valdasians say we are free to visit them any time we want."

I sat up in bed and removed my Pendant from around my neck, holding it out to Henclu and Zorral. "It's a part of it, isn't it?" I said. "It's a part of the Doomsday." God knows how I worked that out, but it certainly seemed to fit in with everything that had happened.

Zorral nodded. "Right after the Doomsday was first built, some Fire Valdasians found they had just enough material left over to make that Pendant," she told me. "We knew it could be dangerous if it got out of control, but we hoped no-one would ever have to use its power . . ."

"Then we must destroy it!" I told her. "Before I do any more damage . . ." But Zorral shook her head.

"There's no need for that - the energy you unleashed burnt it out. It's now nothing more than an ordinary Pendant."

I looked at everyone who was gathered around me, humans and Valdasians united in our moment of triumph. I wondered how long the alliance of our races would last, how long people like Jack - who had made his feelings clear on more than one occasion - would be able to stand sharing a planet with them. But I knew we had no choice - with the Ark goodness only knew how many light years away and without the means of building a replacement craft we were stuck on Terranova.

This was our home now and we had to make of it what we could. Those colonists who had stayed on Terranova had the task of making sure there was never anything but peace between humans and Valdasians. It wasn't going to be easy, but we had to try.

I took back my Pendant and fastened it around my neck again.


End file.
